Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma flags off seven mobile forensic vans

Guwahati: To augment the investigative capabilities of law enforcement agencies in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma flagged off seven mobile forensic vans.

The mobile forensic vans will contribute immensely towards Assam Police's forensic evidence collection capabilities which in turn would lead to a significant increase in conviction rates in days to come, the CM said while flagging the first batch of seven mobile forensic vans on Thursday.

It is often seen that undertrials accused of serious criminal offences go scot-free owing to lack of adequate evidence to support the conviction, Sarma said.

''The mobile forensic vans will help the law enforcement agencies reach the crime scenes at the earliest and enable the investigators to collect and securely preserve crucial evidence so that these are not contaminated'', he said.

Moreover, adequate numbers of resource persons and forensic experts will be allocated for each of these vans, he said.

''It is imperative that a robust forensic science regime is in place in the state to deal with crimes ranging from murder to drug trafficking, to name a few. In keeping these objectives in mind the government decided to establish four regional forensic science laboratories across the state of which three are already operating'', the chief minister said.

Around 400 police personnel from the state police force are being trained at the Ahmedabad-based National Forensic Science University on forensic science and the expertise they gain through this would prove immensely helpful in solving complex cases requiring application of sophisticated forensic science techniques.