BHUBANESWAR: At a time when DNA evidence has become a key tool to investigate and prosecute crimes of sexual violence. Odisha Police will train about 90 officers on Thursday to apprise them about various forensic techniques which can be used to probe such offences.
The Crime against Women and Children Wing (CAW&CW), will organise the programme in presence of DGP Sunil Kumar Bansal. In the first phase, officers from 10 districts will take part in the programme. Principal scientific officer of Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) Central Forensic Science Laboratory, BK Mohapatra, and retired DGP rank officer, Keshav Kumar, who is also a visiting faculty member in National Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar, will apprise the participants about various scientific methods which can be implemented to probe sexual assault offences.
Kumar was able to secure convictions of at least 61 accused persons based on forensic applications during the investigations through the latest scientific aids and tools. “We have also invited the experts of a private firm to share information on rapid DNA analysis technology. A panel discussion will also be held on DNA techniques which can be used to probe sexual offences,” said ADG CAW&CW, Rekha Lohani.
State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) Director Rajesh Kumar, SCB Medical College and Hospital’s Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department’s head Dr Geeta Sahu, and other officials will be present in the programme to guide the police officers regarding various scientific methods to probe sexual offences.