For 32 yrs, this Indian expat shed light on crime scenes

abu dhabi — Forensic photography is the ‘perfect evidence’ from a crime scene to help police investigate cases. Janardhanan Das Kunhimangalam, forensic photographic technician with Abu Dhabi Police, has done this service for 32 years.

And on Saturday, the 56-yearold from south Indian state of Kerala bid goodbye to the Capital as a happy man. With Abu Dhabi Police, Janardhanan witnessed three stages of technology transformation — black and white, colour and digital format.

“Crime scene photography is the very basis of an investigation. It is a thrilling job to help investigating team with evidences,” according to Janardhanan.

He said each case threw new challenges. Among the many, Janardhanan said charred bodies from building fires were difficult for the investigating officer.

His journey

In 1981, his qualifications in photography helped him bag a job with a colour film company in Dubai. Later, he joined Kodak in Abu Dhabi. It was, however, a summer of 1986 that changed his life.

“Abu Dhabi Police purchased a photo printing machine from Kodak and they wanted a person to operate it. I was offered the job based on my experience.”

And that is how Janardhanan became a forensic lab photographic technician. “I did a lot of studies and learned about forensics, face comparison, finger printing etc. I continued to upgrade my knowledge as with the into the digital format.

I leave as a proud Indian. It was an honour and a privilege to serve Abu Dhabi Police for this long.” Janardhanan Das Kunhimangalam, forensic photographer

“I used to provide photographic support during the time of developing negatives in a dark room. It was like a magic to develop a photo from a negative film. But it was time consuming. When the colour photo technology arrived, I started with Yashica Electro 35, Mamiya 120 Film Camera and now Nikon D300. Today everything happens in matter of seconds,” he added.

“I leave as a proud Indian. It was an honour and a privilege to serve Abu Dhabi Police for this long.”

He vouches Abu Dhabi Police are the best in the world when it comes to tracking criminals and maintaining law and order. “Police acts in a speedy manner from tracing a finger print to nabbing that criminal. The technical advancement helps Abu Dhabi Police to keep the Capital safe.” Abu Dhabi was ranked the safest in the world by Numbeo last year.

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com