Better evidence collection from crime spot needed: Experts

The missing bulletproof vest of Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, killed during the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, has thrown up several questions regarding crime scene management with forensic experts calling for better evidence collection mechanism.

The missing bulletproof vest of Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, killed during the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, has thrown up several questions regarding crime scene management with forensic experts calling for better evidence collection mechanism.

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The experts said there was a need to ensure that officers from the forensic department quickly reach the crime spot for proper gathering and preservation of evidences in cooperation with the police.

"Investigating officers must inform forensic scientists immediately about the crime so that they can work together from ground zero," NS Rao, former chief of Directorate of Forensic Science, Ministry of Home Affairs, told PTI.

Current practice is such that the investigating officer directs his subordinates to collect evidences from the crime scene, which most of the time is not done properly due to lack of knowledge on the subject, he said.

Seconding his opinion, Rukmini Krishnamurthy, former Director of the Kalina Forensic Science Lab in Mumbai said, "forensic scientists are well trained to retrieve evidence from the crime scene and can employ proper methods of recognition, identification, collection and preservation."