DNA PROFILING HELPS RESOLVE SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE IN KANGRA

SHIMLA : The DNA fingerprinting (profiling) helped in resolving a “mysterious” sexual assault case of a differently abled woman belonging to a rural area in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, officials said on Monday.

The case dates back to February 2023, when a 24-year-old differently abled woman complained of stomach ache and during treatment it was found that she was pregnant. A case under section 376 of Indian Penal Code, which lays out the punishment for rape, was registered, a statement issued here said.

During investigations, the DNA samples of 36 suspects were sent to the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL), Dharamshala, for DNA profiling but none of them matched with the profile generated from the foetus.

The pregnancy was terminated after three months and the foetus taken out, the RSFL experts said.

The Police consulted RFSL for providing forensic intelligence to nab the culprit.

Based on the generated DNA profiles, clues were given to the police to look for a person in a particular community and the police narrowed down its investigation for DNA analysis.Finally the police caught a 40-year-old man living in the surroundings of the victim. He had two wives and both had left him. The sample of the accused matched with the profile and he was arrested after issuance of a DNA report from the RFSL.

On an average, every year 600 cases with biological evidences come for DNA profiling in the state and a majority of them are of sexual assault, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and murder, forensic experts said.