Ensure all 15 police districts in Delhi have mobile forensic labs: LG to FSL

He had also asked officials for filling up vacant posts and upgradation of technology for disposal of cases in a time-bound manner.He visited the FSL office on Wednesday and instructed officials that the existing two mobile labs that ensure expeditious collection, preservation and analysis of samples should be raised to six immediately by adding four new vans within three months.

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has directed the Forensic Science Laboratory here to ensure that all the 15 police districts in the capital have mobile forensic labs so that the collection and analysis of samples can be expedited.

Saxena had reviewed the functioning and progress of works undertaken by the FSL at Rohini here on June 22 and had taken note of the pendency of over 20,000 cases. He had also asked officials for filling up vacant posts and up-gradation of technology for the disposal of cases in a time-bound manner.

He visited the FSL office on Wednesday and instructed officials that the existing two mobile labs that ensure expeditious collection, preservation, and analysis of samples should be raised to six immediately by adding four new vans within three months. ''It was also decided that eventually, all the 15 police districts should have one mobile forensic lab, thereby raising the total number to 15,'' said an official statement.

Saxena again expressed concern over a large number of cases pending disposal and the inordinate delays in the institution's expansion and upgradation. Reiterating his directions to fill up vacancies at the earliest, Saxena exhorted officials to immediately start faster disposal of cases by incentivizing and encouraging the existing manpower, it said. The FSL was also directed to submit a monthly report to the LG on the progress in the disposal of pending cases, bringing out the incremental achievements therein, it said.

Saxena visited the Ballistic, Chemical Toxicology, Biology, Animal DNA, Finger & Print and Cyber Forensic Labs, and Instrumentation Centres and also inspected the record-keeping procedures, the mobile labs run by FSL, and the excavation works that were going on for expanding the existing building in the campus. The LG directed the PWD to complete the upcoming building by March 2023.

It was directed that the work of retrofitting the existing labs with the latest instruments and technology be expedited and any proposal pending in this regard be cleared, said the statement.

After learning that records including those of calls received were being maintained physically, it was directed that a comprehensive ERP solution be expeditiously adopted and implemented by the institution, the statement said. While going around the entire complex, the L-G also pointed toward the general neglect and advised officers concerned to ensure top-class upkeep and maintenance while stressing that small effort can bring about huge visible changes.