One of the key components of criminal investigation system is in dire straits as reporting of cases has become a cumbersome job for officials of State Forensic Sciences laboratory which is working with less than a quarter of its sanctioned strength which includes technical assistance staff and reporting staff to carry out forensic works and its reporting.
The state-of-the-art laboratory at Hotwar is currently functioning with 29 scientists and with just four assistant directors-cum-senior scientific officers against the corresponding sanctioned strength of 84 and 66. According to sources, the only forensic laboratory is sitting idle on nearly 300 narcotics samples for chemical examinations, 300 samples of explosives for ballistic investigations and 200 samples for biological test and 4,000 samples for toxicology tests.
“Around 62 positions are vacant. Functioning is severely impaired because of staff crunch. Everyone is giving 300 per cent effort and because of that only some task is getting accomplished,” said acting Director SFSl, RS Singh.
Jharkhand’s fight against narcotics gets impaired because the chemical report prepared at the SFSl is signed by the assistant directors-cum-senior scientific officers before it can be used in the criminal investigation process. Incidentally, Jharkhand is one of the states where illegal Opium poppy is cultivated in the badlands of the State. According to Narcontrol—a journal of Narcotics Control Bureau--in an operation in December, 2014 State police had destroyed illicit Opium poppy cultivation at over 40 acres of land in Khunti, barely few kilometers from Ranchi.
Notwithstanding the staff crunch at the SFSl, Ranchi police claims that no accused booked under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPA) has ever escaped justice due to delayed report. Around 10-12 cases of NDPA are currently pending with the district police.
“So far I have not come across any case where an accused has been let free due to delay in report. Whenever we feel that a report is likely to be delayed, we inform the court in advance and request for additional time,” said Ranchi SSP, Prabhat Kumar.
Notably, cases booked under NDPA range from recovery of the banned substance in small sachets to huge cache recovered in January (16kg) from Khadgarha from the possession of inter-state gang with bases in Odisha and Jharkhand.
Additional Chief Secretary, Home, NN Pandey could not be reached to know government’s efforts of filling up vacancies at the SFSl.