Delhi forensic lab’s reliability in doubt

THERE ARE AT LEAST 6 COMPLAINTS THAT THE ROHINI LAB FUDGED FORENSIC REPORTS. DELHI’S AAP GOVT HAS ORDERED AN INQUIRY

NEW DELHI: The rape case against his son seemed unassailable. The police had filed a case against the boy, and the DNA test report from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) at Rohini only served to buttress their case.

But Prem Singh ( name changed), hailing from Shahbad Dairy in north Delhi, just couldn’t believe his son was capable of such an act. He requested a re-examination of the DNA sample by another laboratory, and the results — much to his relief — served to prove a claim he had been crying himself hoarse over. The boy was innocent.

Singh has now filed a complaint against the laboratory, accusing it of framing his son.

This is not the first time the Delhi FSL’s staff — accused of being poorly trained and lacking in quali- fications — have been pulled up for botching up investigations. Recently, a Gurgaon-based man accused of rape moved court against a lab report that pointed to his involvement in the crime. The report was overturned after the court sought a re-test by another lab, which came up with a different finding.

Sources say there are at least six cases, mostly of rape, where FSL employees are accused of preparing incorrect reports. Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party government has now ordered an inquiry.

“This is a serious matter; innocent people are being framed due to such incorrect reports. We are checking whether this is being done deliberately… if staffers are preparing false reports in exchange for money. Many of these reports — negative or positive — were overturned during cross-verification,” a Delhi official said.

He said relatives of arrested persons had complained to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, following which a preliminary inquiry committee was set up. “It has been alleged that some five experts at the laboratory are not qualified to hold their positions. According to the rules, they must possess a master’s degree in the subject concerned with relevant experience of three to five years in the field. However, an internal inquiry has shown that many of them submitted false documents to get the job. The staffers have been asked to respond to the allegations,” the official added.

However, sources said, the FSL staffers have filed a complaint against a document division official whom they have accused of pressuring them to alter a report against him in a cheating case.