Maharashtra: Wildlife forensic lab to come up in Nagpur

In what will help faster detection of crimes against the wildlife, the state government is planning to establish a forensic division in Nagpur. This specialised facility, the first in Maharashtra, will ensure that evidences in crimes like poaching and seizures of wildlife contraband like tiger skin can be analysed faster, leading to speedier investigations and trials.

At present, such samples are sent to testing facilities outside Maharashtra like the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Lucknow. A senior home department official told DNA that they had received a proposal from the Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratories (DFSL) for setting up an animal DNA analysis facility at the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL) in Nagpur. "The division is likely to be established in a year," the official said, adding that it would take around Rs 8 crore to establish forensic testing infrastructure like genetic analysers. The division will be staffed by around 20 people. Nagpur has been chosen for starting the facility as it is located in proximity of tiger projects and has substantial animal presence, which also leads to wildlife crime related cases," the official explained.