CBI Director Anil Sinha has expressed concern over lesser use of forensics in investigation of special crimes and termed the practice as a major weakness of criminal investigation. Stating that forensics is used in only five to six per cent of the criminal cases, Sinha also lamented lack of forensic labs in the country.
Speaking at the CBI Day function on Monday, Sinha said that a proposal has been sent to the Government to set up a state-of-the-art Forensic Science lab at CBI Academy Campus in Ghaziabad. The proposed lab will cater to tests relating to emerging and futuristic forensic disciplines like Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Forensics besides Disaster Victim Identification among others.
The proposed Forensic Science laboratory would be a first of its kind facility in the country and would not only cater to the needs of CBI but also other Central and State law Enforcement Agencies. Sinha said, “Presently, not only is the number of Forensic labs inadequate in the country but the existing Forensic labs lack latest technological capacity to conduct advanced tests.”
In order to overcome the challenges in probing complex crimes like 2G, coal scam, Ponzi schemes and capital market scams, the agency has also sent a proposal to the Centre to establish a Centralised Technology Vertical within the CBI in order to provide real time support to investigators with access to Data Warehouses, equipped with Big Data Analytics, Data Mining Tools and manned by professionals in Digital Forensic Analysis, Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination.