INDIA FACES FORENSICS STAFF CRUNCH

Staff shortage and poor budgeting are proving to be stumbling blocks for the Andhra Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory (APFSL) in dealing with numerous cases eventually leading to backlogs and delay in solving crime, officials said. 

The APFSL was established in 1974 by merging the scientific units of the CID of the police department and chemical examiner section of the medical and health department. It is the first and only laboratory in India to establish advanced technology-centric sections like DNA, computer forensics, biomedical and forensic engineering. But years of neglect and lack of new equipment has posed a huge hindrance for the APFSL, officials said. "We are one of the premier institutions in the country which helps the police, judiciary, CBI and many other government bodies in solving cases for more than three decades. But shortage of staff has become a major problem and the meagre budget allocated to us is another big hindrance," said Sharada Avadhanam, deputy director of the forensic science laboratory of theAP Police Academy. 

Elaborating on the need for funding to modernise APFSL so that it can cope with the growing number of cases each year, Avadhanam, who will take over as the director of the laboratory in September next year, said that the institution badly needs more brains.
        
                                                                            -PIYUSH.R,(crimenprejudice team)