Shillong, Nov 5: The state Cabinet on Tuesday approved the amendment of the Meghalaya Forensic Science Laboratory Rules, 2021 for the creation of more posts in the mobile forensic crime scene units.

Addressing media persons, cabinet minister Paul Lyngdoh said, “This (amendment) involves the creation of the mobile forensic crime scene unit and cabinet agreed to the creation of more posts in these mobile forensic crime scene units, which will facilitate crime detection through mobile units meaning officers will be equipped with vehicles, which will facilitate a faster detection of crimes.”

“We also agreed to the proposal to have scientific officers, senior scientific assistance, scientific assistance and laboratory assistance across all districts. This was necessitated in view of the fact that a crime scene detection was not a component of the service rules until the cabinet took up this matter today,” he added.

Asked, Secretary in-charge Home (Police), Cyril Diengdoh, said that as per the new criminal code, the BNSS of 2023, which came into force from July 1, this year, there is a requirement under 176 (3) of the BNSS that for certain heinous crimes, mobile forensic investigators to collect evidence.

“This is the requirement of the law. To keep the requirement of the law, the government has sanctioned these posts much earlier. Recruitment process has started and infact there is a requirement that the service rules have to be updated because this is new division in the forensic science directorate called mobile forensic crime scene unit, which will manage the collection of forensic evidence at the ground level. This is the requirement of the law and hence cabinet has moved the amendment to the service rules to include these new posts that have been created to the schedule of the service rules,” he said.

Further, Diengdoh informed that the government has been taking steps over the past few years to ensure the forensic science lab is fully upto date.

“For example, in June of last year, the government had upgraded the forensic science lab to a full-fledged directorate under the home police department. Earlier it functioned under the DGP office. Today we have said that these posts have been created as per the law and definitely mobile vans are also being procured and some have already been procured. This upgradation is a continuous process,” he said.

He said there are many divisions in the forensic science lab in Shillong and as and when the requirement of law is there, the recruitment will happen, the officers will be upgraded, their skills will be upgraded and equipment will be procured from time to time. The process is ongoing and upgradation is a continuous process.

To another query, Diengdoh said, “We do have DNA unit in the forensic science laboratory. If samples are being sent outside that might be the requirement of the law. It is not like the samples are always investigated here. For certain types of samples, samples are sent to get further expert opinions because as you understand forensic is to build expert evidence so that the case is well prosecuted in the court of law. Those aspects will examine and we will see.”

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