Bengaluru: In a big push to scientific crime investigation and anti-drug enforcement, Karnataka Saturday inducted 32 mobile forensic vans (MFV) to enable on-the-spot forensic examination of crime scenes and faster collection of evidence. Each district will get one van.Chief minister DK Shivakumar said the initiative will strengthen investigations into narcotics cases and improve conviction rates. Home minister Priyank Kharge said the laboratories will allow officers to collect high-quality scientific evidence at crime scenes, carry out digital examinations on the spot and significantly improve quality and speed of criminal investigations.Flagging off the vans along with 75 Bolero police vehicles, Shivakumar said Karnataka police seized drugs worth Rs 375 crore in the past year and arrested around 1,500 peddlers, describing the department’s performance in curbing narcotics as commendable.Announcing a Rs 10 lakh cash reward for the police team that recently made a major drug seizure, he said Karnataka’s borders with Goa, Maharashtra and Kerala makes vigilance against interstate drug trafficking critical.The CM said growing misuse of artificial intelligence and other technologies is leading to new forms of crime, making it essential for police to strengthen technology-driven investigations and preventive policing.Director general and inspector general of police MA Saleem told TOI sometimes, investigating police officers at the crime scene commit mistakes in collecting evidence, particularly crucial ones like blood or DNA. Also, there are cases of considerable delay in sending samples to FSL centres.“Collecting scientific and digital evidence from the crime scene itself is an art. That’s why we appointed over 200 scene of crime officers (SOCO). These officers had to take samples to jurisdictional FSL centres for preservation. But now, with the help of MFVs, collection and preservation of scientific evidence becomes easier. No time will be lost in preserving them also. This will help us in taking the cases to a logical end and put every effort to get convictions,” he said.Kits available in vansBlood and semen detection, DNA evidence collection, gunshot residue test, camera and LED screen, forensic light source, fingerprint and footprint kits, digital forensic, narcotics detection, explosives detection, bullet hole testing, arson investigation and microscope.
