Hyderabad: The forensic evidence and DNA profiling helped the judge reach a verdict in the Warangal rape case. The team completed the investigation in record time because the police had collected evidence from the scene of the offence in a scientific manner. During the 48 days’ 51 witnesses deposed while a team of 12 police personnel and a forensic science team worked hard to ensure the speedy judgment.
A senior scientist with a decade long experience in DNA profiling said, “Invariably, if the biological material is obtained from the victim in a scientific manner in a time bound period, it helps to a large degree in cross examination. Timely collection is needed. Most of the evidence is lost if the victim reports the crime after two or three days. Scientific collection of samples will definitely lead to justice for the victim.”
Experts say that in a high percentage of rape cases, the semen and vaginal swab do not yield accurate results because they are not packed in a scientific manner. Usually the semen is packed in plastic packs and when sent to the forensic lab, it fails to yield accurate results.
Thus the onus lies on the police and hospital staff to collect the samples in time and handle them correctly.
