Maharashtra lab to have forensic psychology dept

MUMBAI: Faced with the need to conduct sophisticated psychological tests on the accused in crimes, the Maharashtra government is setting up a modern forensic psychology division at its forensic laboratory here.

 

Since the Maharashtra Police have to take the accused for such tests to Bangalore or Hyderabad, it was important for the Maharashtra Forensic Science Laboratory to have its own psychology division, said Rukmani Krishnamurthy, lab director.

 

The new unit will be ready within a couple of months, she said. It will have the latest technologies for narco-analysis, brain fingerprinting and speech identification. The infrastructure will be in line with international standards, said Krishnamurthy. The cyber forensic, lie detector and clinical toxicology facilities will be ready by July, while the others will be ready by October, she said. MFSL already has a well-established DNA fingerprinting facility.

 

“We are following total protocols and setting up the facilities in coordination with national institutes so that they have full legal standing in the courts,” Krishnamurthy said. “Recruitments are on and we will also recruit specialists on a contract basis.” About the best psycho-forensic lab in the country, she said, “Gujarat’s lab is the best.”