DNA lab’s inadequate facilities come under microscope

Testing DNA is not an easy job. Especially when the forensic experts dealing with cases of sexual offences, child abuse unidentified bodies and disputed paternity also have to deal with insufficient equipment and inadequate staff. And, since most of the DNA tests in the state are conducted in the testing centre in Mylapore, the workload too is humongous.

Speaking about the challenges that DNA testing laboratories face, Dr R Selvakumar, forensic expert at the Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital, said that even the police insist on DNA tests on almost every case which adds to the pressure. “Many DNA samples are pending in the forensic laboratory in Chennai because of these challenges,” he said, refusing to reveal the number of pending tests.

Adding to this is preserving samples retrieved from rape victims and survivors, the doctor said. Since in such cases, the samples must be collected within 24 hours as it degrades rapidly, to analyse the collected sample in time too is a tough job, said the forensic expert as any change in the quality of the sample can affect the result and hence, the case.

Stressing on the problems arising in cases of sexual assaults, Dr V Dekal, professor and head of the department of forensic medicine at Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, said, “The biological samples of the assailant such as his semen or saliva left on the body of the victim must be collected immediately or at least within 24 hours and tested within a short period of time.” Stating an example, the doctor said that in cases of vaginal washes, the sample can only be collected from the vaginal canal within 12 to 24 hours of the assault for them to create a DNA fingerprint from the sperm retrieved from it. “The problem is that the cases are reported to the police extremely late, then the court has to give an order for examination. Only then does the case come to us. We then collect and examine the samples, which takes around seven to 14 days. It then serves no purpose at all. The results will always be negative and hampers investigation,” said Dr Dekal.

He added that rape cases are rarely presented to the medical examiner within 24 hours. “It is therefore important that people have a facility to approach immediately, like a contact or a toll number to call. The case should first be subjected to examination before a case is filed, to avoid delay. Only then is there a chance of isolation of the DNA. Awareness should be created on the importance of submitting samples and registering cases at the earliest,” Dr Dekal said.

At a time when the number of crimes is on the rise, especially that of rape, collecting and testing the samples immediately is the need of the hour. Veenamani K, a women’s rights’ activist, said, “The fact that thousands of forensic DNA samples, which could form crucial evidence in serious crimes such as rape and murder, are lying unexamined across the country due to a shortage of DNA labs, is beyond worrisome. Lack of evidence impacts the ruling of these cases.” Claiming that over 30 per cent of the cases sent by the police for testing are unnecessary, Dr Selvakumar added, “There is not enough space to store all the samples, making it extremely difficult for the staff at the testing laboratories. How long can a laboratory store the samples?” He said even though there are laboratories across the state, most of the DNA tests are conducted in Chennai but facilities are being set up in Madurai now.

“The laboratory in Chennai is the only one with most of the facilities. Centres in other districts do not have half the equipment required for it,” said a forensic expert from the city, requesting anonymity.

Explaining the importance of DNA tests, Dr Selvakumar said, “DNA reports are a strong tool for judiciary and investigating agencies to recreate the sequence of crime or connect it with the accused and the victims. Such reports can also help exonerate a person who has been wrongly convicted.”

Despite shortage of manpower, including trained investigators and lack of new tools and technologies, Dr Selvakumar said, “Merely blaming the staff and the lack of equipment – like the ones for fingerprint testing which are not available in district laboratories - will not fasten the process. The process of sending samples to laboratories must be done more responsibly.” “There are instances wherein the court and the police put pressure on the staff to release results quickly, but they need to understand that testing DNA samples is a highly sophisticated process and tends to take approximately 14 days. As a result, there is a backlog of a number of cases, especially when we do not have adequate manpower or facilities to meet with the demand,” said Dr Selvakumar.

Speaking about the kind of cases for which the police send for DNA tests, a police officer, not wanting to be named, said, “Sometimes these tests help us identify multiple suspects like in the case of a gangrape or even to pin point a suspect in the case of a murder.”

“We also send samples for cases pertaining to child abuse, paternity examination, unidentified bodies and viscera examination for instances of poisoning. But, the major reason we insist on DNA tests is that they help us a lot with investigation,” said the officer.

While the forensic sciences laboratory is an important link in investigating crime, the major challenge is the shortage of new, technologies and forensic divisions. “In India, less than half of the over 25,000 cases that go to DNA labs each year are processed. But, the delay in testing the samples results in its contamination,” said another forensic expert from the city.

Incidentally, the Centre has recently tightened its laws with a greater focus on women’s safety. A new set of guidelines have been issued by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory for investigators of sexual assault cases that emphasises the proper handling of samples like vaginal swabs, condoms, pubic hair and clothes.

Applications for analysis are acceptable for free when received from the police department, presiding officers of criminal courts, the Madras High Court, prohibition and excise department and suspected poison cases from government medical and veterinary institutions. Requests for analysis from other departments of the state government, undertakings of state government, municipal corporations and other local bodies, universities of Tamil Nadu, private hospitals in Tamil Nadu, licensees directed to send samples by the office of the Commissioner of prohibition and excise, central government, their undertakings, other state governments, and from the High Court or from other (criminal/civil) courts in cases where the Government of Tamil Nadu is not a party, are entertained on payment of the fees.