Forensic Lab at Mumbai receives around 5,000 cyber forensic complaints in a year

Reports from Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratory (DFSL) were used in many high-profile cases, including the 1993 serial bomb blasts and cases related to the 2006 train blasts and 2011 serial blasts in Mumbai, and the 26/11 terrorist attacks

When a Mumbai court recently sentenced a 45-year-old man to death for raping and murdering a 32-year-old woman in Sakinaka, the court relied on a 'gait analysis' report furnished by the police, for the first time in the country. Gait analysis is a process where a person's manner of walking is compared with CCTV camera footage of the accused.

The lab behind the gait report is the Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratory (DFSL), Mumbai, established in the year 1958. It receives around 5,000 cyber forensics cases in a year and serves as the headquarters of seven Regional Forensic Science Laboratories (RFSL) and five mini forensic science laboratories (MFSL) in Maharashtra.

The DFSL’s main function is to provide scientific opinion on different types of evidential material referred to by the investigating agencies and help the judiciary. "These pieces of evidence act as mute witnesses against the perpetrators and are impartial. A forensic scientist employed in the laboratory helps police in the collection of the right evidence material from the scene of the crime," said a DFSL official.

The officials working here cannot disclose current cases, but revealed that reports from DFSL were used in many high-profile cases, including the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Bombay which killed around 260 people and injured 1,400. Cases related to the 2006 train blasts and 2011 serial blasts in Mumbai, the 2010 German bakery blast in Pune and the 26/11 terrorist attacks too had forensic evidence from DFSL.

The DFSL office at Santacruz Kalina has eight divisions – toxicology, biology, DNA, general analytical and instrumentation. Their areas of expertise cover the full gamut of forensic science - narcotics and explosives, prohibition and excise, ballistics, physics, tape authentication, and speaker identification, cyber forensic, and psychology.

Sources said the DFSL's cyber forensic department identifies which digital media (mobile phones, credit cards, hard drives, etc.,) is present at the scene of the crime, and seizes the media. "At the laboratory, the team makes a duplicate copy of the media, authenticates, identifies and analyses its integrity using latest technology and presents the report in a sealed envelope or as an exhibit. This facility is available in Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune," an DFSL official said.

The lab provides scientific-analytical reports to police departments in Maharashtra, the forest department, State excise and revenue departments, and national agencies such as CBI and NIA, among others.