Shillong, Nov 11: The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) of Meghalaya which deals with scientific analyses of crimes, narcotics and other tests of criminal cases is suffering from various deficiencies which have severely affected its functioning.
This was revealed in the report of senior lawyer Kishore Ch Gautam who was appointed as Amicus Curiae by the Meghalaya High Court to verify the condition of the forensic science laboratory located in Shillong.
In his report submitted to the division bench of the Meghalaya High Court recently, Gautam stated that several portions of the FSL building including the office were damp and badly maintained and the overall environment did not commensurate with the requirements of a specialised scientific establishment.
Gautam who inspected the building and interacted with the staff said in his report that there is only one cleaner for the entire three-storied building and that there is shortage of housekeeping staff.
In the report, it was revealed that presently, FSL officials including the Scientific Officer have to clean and look after the sanitory condition of their own divisions.
In his report, Gautam attached photographs showing poor sanitory conditions of the building including rusted equipment in the Chemical Division.
The report also stated that there is shortage of manpower in different divisions of the Meghalaya FSL Directorate besides vacancies in gazetted cadre, including two vacant posts of Deputy Director and two vacant posts of Scientific Officer.
According to the report, the Scientific Officer is overseeing Cyber Forensic Unit with just one assistant and is also singlehandedly overseeing the Physical Division. Several divisions in the FSL require laboratory bearers and other support staff.
What is most shocking is that as per the report, the present Director of Meghalaya FSL is not a technical person and did not come from forensic science background.
The report also gave details of deficiencies in various divisions of the FSL which included non-functioning equipment in the Chemistry Division, shortage and non-availability of chemicals and consumables for DNA testing, inadequate equipment in the Biology/DNA Division, need for modern equipment in Document Division and Physical Division, need for updated hardware and software in Cyber Forensic Division and several other shortfalls in the division related to narcotic testing.
The report also stated that even the power generator installed in 2024 is now non-functional. This has affected the functioning of the FSL where some of the sophisticated equipment are required to run 24/7 and as such the generator serves as the critical backup power source.
The Meghalaya High Court’s division bench which has taken serious note of the conditions in the Meghalaya FSL has directed the State government to address all the issues raised in the report. The matter will be taken up further at the court’s hearing slated for November 19.
