Dimapur, January 3: The July 4, 2013 murder case in Dimapur is a stark indication that crime scene investigation is seriously lacking in Nagaland state. Six months have lapsed and the case has come to a standstill due to pending results of DNA tests, samples of which were sent outside the State. More dismal is the fact that (and possibly unknown to many), Nagaland has its very own forensic science laboratory sans a DNA testing facility.
Nagaland’s forensic science laboratory was established as far back as 1982. It is a unit of the Police department under its Crime branch and is the only laboratory in the entire State. Clearly an underutilised unit, the laboratory has been functioning under several constrains. Three decades on and the laboratory still has only four divisions- fingerprint, photography, polygraphy (lie detector) and narcotic testing.
One of the main drawbacks in the unit is the shortage of forensic skills. Since there are no permanent posts for scientific experts in the laboratory, police personnel starting from the rank of a sub-inspector are sent for training outside the State for a period of six months. After completing training they are attached to the various divisions in the laboratory. They appear another examination after three years in order to be deemed “experts.”
It is learnt through reliable sources that the department has on many occasions written to the Government for appointment of forensic experts but their requests have been repeatedly turned down on the government’s standing order of ‘no new post creation.’ For this reason, though essentially a police unit, some of its officers are drawn from the civil setup. A Joint Director level officer is head of the laboratory. Further, some trained officers are requisitioned for conducting tests only when required.
A retired officer, on the condition of anonymity, said that the unit needs a total revamp. “Crucial divisions like Biology, DNA toxicology, audio-video forensics and ballistics are needed for effective delivery of forensic services in the state,” he said. Nagaland will remain behind others in the field of forensic investigation if not, he added.
Another retired officer said that the Government needs to strengthen forensic expertise in the State. “We need scientists, doctors, lab technicians and forensic experts to do the job. It would also provide employment for those with diploma or degrees in forensic science,” he said. He further pointed out that most States in India have a separate Directorate of Forensic with some even having a separate Bureau for fingerprint.
With increasing crimes in the state, it has become pertinent for law makers to build forensic policies which could, ideally, help provide a framework to build forensic capacities in the State. It also needs to find the means to set up laboratories in other districts as well and help build forensic expertise in the State to be at par with present times.
