New forensic sciences lab in Niwari to help expedite cases

GHAZIABAD: Uttar Pradesh on Friday got its fifth forensic science laboratory in Niwari town, Ghaziabad, which, officials said, will help in the faster disposal of cases that require further analysis.

The UP director general of police (DGP), OP Singh, who inaugurated the laboratory, said it would cater to several districts of western UP, including Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar, and expedite pending cases.

According to official sources of the UP Police’s technical services department, an estimated 7,000 forensic analysis cases are pending at the four operational labs at Lucknow, Agra, Varanasi and Moradabad.

The pending cases are mostly related to ballistics, viscera, and DNA analysis.

The DNA testing and analysis, narco-analysis, lie detection, and brain mapping facilities are presently available only at the Lucknow laboratory.

“We have issued tenders for the DNA analysis facility, which is vital in cases of rape, to be made available at the Agra laboratory,” Ashutosh Pandey, additional director general (technical services), said.

“This lab will help us expedite cases. Earlier, the Meerut zone was dependent on labs at Agra and Moradabad. Now, the forensic analysis of cases from Meerut zone will be done at Niwari.

We have coordinated with the prosecution officers in cases involving the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) act, and have asked such cases to be fast-tracked,” Singh said.

Officials said the lab at Niwari will be modernised further, within six months, to accommodate different departments related to computer forensics, acoustics, explosives, ballistic, DNA sampling and analysis, lie detection, brain mapping, narco analysis, and others.

Presently the lab, built at a cost of ₹60 crore, has started functioning with seven departments dealing with analysis of samples related to crime scene management, documents, chemistry, physics, biology, serology and toxicology.

“This lab is a part of our modernisation plans — we were supposed to come up with one laboratory in each of the 18 police ranges in the state. This project (at Niwari) was delayed by a year,” DGP Singh said.

Officials said that they have more proposals for the creation of similar labs in Allahabad and Varanasi in the next phase.

“We have a sanctioned strength of 17 scientific officers here (Niwari). To boost the number of scientific officers, we can also rope them in on a contractual basis, although the process of recruitment through the public service commission is underway. We are also opening up training institutes in Jalaun and Sultanpur,” he added.

Officials said that the lab at Niwari will speed up cases in instances where viscera is generally sent for analysis and reports remain pending for one to three years.

“The viscera analysis at Niwari lab will take a maximum of one month,” an officer of the UP police said.