New Delhi [India], May 15 (ANI): A day after a massive fire broke out in a building near Delhi's Mundka metro station which claimed 27 lives, two forensic science teams have reached the site of the fire mishap to assist the Delhi police in the investigation. A DNA examination would be carried out to identify the bodies.

New Delhi Mar 20 PTI Over five narco tests has been conducted at the Forensic Science Laboratory FSL here since the facility was started in August last year officials said on SundayThe FSL started the narco analysis facility the first in north India in collaboration with Ambedkar Hospital here they saidFSL Director Deepa Verma said efforts were being made for the past two years to start the facility However the first session was conducted on August 9 2021 she saidNarco analysis involves injecting a drug which induces a hypnotic or sedated state in which the persons imagination is neutralised and he or she is expected to divulge true informationThe narco analysis is being conducted after administering drug to the suspect So the direction of the court is also neededThe laboratory also plays an important role We also needed a support system from the hospital because this test is conducted in the operation theatre so that the suspect remains under medical supervision Verma saidThe FSL director said a team should be present during the test to monitor the suspects parametersThis process requires both psychologists and doctors she saidIt took two years to start This is the first such facility in north India A lot of effort was needed to be put like how the facility will be set up what would be the requirements how will we prepare how would the medical team be prepared among others Also the training was not available easily due to the Covid pandemic because of which it took a longer time for all these preparations Otherwise we would have started it a year ago Verma saidThe teams have conducted sessions on six to seven suspects and all were from Delhi she saidVerma said every case which comes for the narco test is sensitiveThe investigating agencies use this test after other evidences do not provide a clear picture of the caseThe test is conducted when we have doubt that the suspect is hiding any information or whether there is any other information available which would give any lead in the case she saidElaborating about the facility Verma said it was started under the direction of the High CourtWe have tied-up with Ambedkar hospital to work like a team They have also assigned a dedicated operation theatre for the narco test the director said Explaining how the nacro test is conducted a senior FSL official said First the investigator submits the case with us and also briefs us about it Then our psychologist has a session with investigating officer IOThe experts interact with the suspect where he is apprised about the test as his consent is mandatory Only when the psychologists are satisfied that the suspect has understood he is medically examined and the process begins the official saidHead of the Psychology department at FSL Dr Puneet Puri said the narco test is an invasive technique in which medicine is used to take the suspect into the trans-like stateWhen a person goes into the trans-like state then he loses the power of thinking The experts ask the suspect about facts related to the case and whatever information comes out from the suspect gets recorded in-camera This test was conducted only in the intensive care unit ICU under the supervision of senior doctors Puri saidFirst we use non-invasive techniques such as polygraph test before the narco Later the findings of both tests are corroborated with each other to help in the investigation In invasive and non-invasive cases the consent of the court is mandatoryThe consent of the suspect is also compulsory If we take the suspect to the ICU and he refuses for the test then we stop the process The moment the suspect enters the ICU video recording is started When the suspect gives the nod for the test only then the test can be initiated Puri saidHead of crime scene management division at FSL Sanjeev Gupta said The suspect is first given anesthesia before being asked about the case Three teams of doctors psychologists and photo experts are present in the ICU during the session PTI NIT NIT TDS TDS

New Delhi Dec 19 PTI Cases related to illegal slaughter of animals including cow may now be solved expeditiously in Delhi with the forensic laboratory at Rohini using a new technology to identify the animal that has been butchered The Rohini FSL started using the Mitochondrial DNA technology in August this year and has helped solve 22 cases of animal slaughter since then According to officials this is the first lab in north India to deploy the technique to identify the animal that has been slaughtered and ascertain its sex The laboratory has deployed an automated DNA extraction instrument and a Real-Time PCR instrument based on mitochondrial DNA technology -- Mitochondrial DNA is the physical embodiment of genetic information encoded in mitochondrion -- to identify the animal and its sex According to Delhi Police officials the facility will help them solve cases of illegal slaughter expeditiously as they have to wait for long duration when they send the samples outside the cityThey said slaughter of certain animals hurts the religious feelings of people so police need to take expeditious action in such cases to avoid any tension There has been cases where people accused of illegal cow slaughter were lynched to death by mobs During the probe of animal slaughter even though a case is registered the police depend on forensic evidence to first identify the species through the meat recovered and then to determine its sex according to senior FSL senior scientific officer Naresh KumarWhen someone is caught and claims he was transporting buff yet it is an illegal act of slaughter which also comes under the Animal Slaughtering Act he told PTIHe said apart from cow and buffalo meat the lab now can also identify chicken meat We started getting queries in one-two cases where the client being strictly vegetarian wanted to know if they were delivered non-vegetarian food So that is a new species added to the facility for identification A senior Delhi police officer explained how the facility helps them solve animal slaughter cases expeditiouslyWhen the identity of the animal is very clear right at the scene of crime one need not take the help of forensic experts he said But in cases where one gets only remains blood samples or flesh the forensic report helps ascertain the identity of the species The testing facility also helps in curbing the serious issue of meat adulteration FSL officials said A senior FSL official said they recently tackled a case where a suspected mixture of two meats was being illegally transported in a car All we got was the blood samples of the mixed meat from the vehicle So in that case based on the blood samples we identified it had both cow and buffalo meat he saidElaborating the procedure followed during the identification of the sample sent by the police for determination the senior officials at the FSL said once the sample is collected by the police it gets preserved under -20 degrees Celsius temperature It is important that in the absence of the FSL team at the scene of crime the police are trained to preserve the lifted sample by applying dry salt on it and preserve it in an air-tight plastic or glass containers he saidExplaining the details of testing the official said Generally pieces of meat or bones are extracted then using the mitochondrial DNA technology and a special kit composed of chemical mixture with a base of a particular species is applied against itIf the sample gets amplified it means the meat is of a cow If not we use another kit consisting the base of a buffalo and if the DNA extracted sample does not get amplified it means it is not buffalo meat So this way the identification of the species is done he said Later the sex determination is also carried out and the report is submitted to the policeAccording to officials well-preserved samples bring out the best resultsFSL director Deepa Verma said If it gets deteriorated it is not that we would not get the results at all In such cases our experts will try multiple times but there are also chances that we may not get the best results but in comparison to good quality preservation it results in 95 per cent confirmation She said it is the first time that mitochondrial DNA technology is being used in north India in analysing and determining the sex of the animal samples After they started probing wildlife-related crimes using the technology in August this year the Delhi Police has approached them with 35 cases of suspected cow or buffalo slaughter out of which 22 cases have already been solved officials said As per our analysis maximum of these cases are related to cow slaughtering said Kumar the FSL senior scientific officer PTI AMP GJS TIR