Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai will inaugurate the “Advanced Forensic DNA Centre” at CFSL, Chandigarh on Monday.

"With the opening of this Advanced Forensic DNA Laboratory, it shall provide quality forensic service in time bound manner on one hand and shall act as a model reference Lab for development of projects and related R&D activities in the field for various Central and State FSLs on the other," a statement issued here on Friday said.

The Advanced Forensic DNA Lab will have four independent units such as Sexual Assault and Homicide Unit,  Paternity Unit,  Human Identification Unit and Mitochondrial DNA Unit, fully equipped with modern DNA Profiling tools and techniques.

The statement said that the advanced Forensic DNA Lab, having capacity of 2000 cases annually will be of immense use in the examination of crime exhibits pertaining to cases relating to Disputed paternity or maternity; criminal paternity, rape and murder, child abuse and sexual assault (POCSO), Human identification, forensic challenged DNA cases – charred bone, exhumed skeletal remains, touch DNA, trace elements etc; homicide, kinship analysis.

Forensic DNA Profiling and DNA Fingerprinting is at its emerging stage in India.  The DNA Profiling is a technique in which an individual can be identified at molecular level and is based on the principles of inheritance.

Forensic DNA Profiling is a very sensitive and reproducible technique that has become one of the most valuable tool in modern criminal investigation such as human identification in mass disasters, paternity and maternity disputes, identification of victim and suspect in rape and murder cases, child swapping in hospitals, identification of deceased, organ transplantation and immigration.   

The existing infrastructure of the State as well as Central Forensic Laboratories is not enough to meet the demand of timely disposal of DNA examination especially in Sexual assault and child abuse cases resulting in delay in justice delivery system. 

Keeping this in view, the Government of India last year took the initiative to establish Nation’s first advanced Forensic DNA Laboratory with latest high throughput DNA Profiling tools at CFSL Chandigarh under the Nirbhaya Fund with an outlay of Rs. 99.76 crores.

Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai will inaugurate the Centre at CFSL on Monday, in the presence of MP from Chandigarh Kirron Kher. Salila Punya Srivastava, Joint Secretary (Women Safety), Ministry of Home Affairs and Ashish Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Women & Child Development will make their presentation during the inaugural function.