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DNA-testing technology to arrive soon in Nepal
KATHMANDU, DEC 07 - A report posted on the American Civil Liberties Union website claims that ‘as of June, 2002, 108 people including 12 death row inmates, have been exonerated by use of DNA tests’. Among them, Frank Lee Smith, convicted in 1985, was cleared after his death in 2000.
Over twenty years after the first ever DNA-testing for forensic purposes, National Forensic Lab in Satdobato, Kathmandu is being equipped with the costly technology. Officials at the Lab claim that the technology would arrive without fail by the April 2004.
There are ample cases in Nepal where rape and murder convicts have persistently claimed their innocence years after being convicted, say police officials. Keeping in mind the gaping loopholes in our police and legal processes, it would be fair to assume that some of the convicts are genuinely innocent. With DNA-testing, the innocent could be exonerated.
"Till now, only some high profile cases have sought the assistance of the costly service, which also requires over six months of patience between the sending of DNA samples from Nepal to Calcutta, and the arrival of the report," said Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajesh Karna of Central Police Science Lab, Maharajgunj.
Moreover, this time span provides ample space for tampering, say citizens.
With the arrival of the technology in Nepal, DNA matches could be ascertained with miniscule samples of hair, nail, blood, semen, saliva, or even dandruff. The technology will be costly (around Rs 50,000 per test), but the results are flawless.
"The benefits more than offset the cost," claimed Dinesh Jha, Assistant Scientific Officer of DNA Unit in the Lab, adding, "Theoretically, the technology is 100 percent accurate." Ministry of Science and Technology has provided funds to procure DNA analyser, which would cost Rs 8 million.
Till the present, forensic technology in Nepal is limited to the level of blood typing. Presently, the Police Science Lab is the sole recourse for forensic service in crime cases.
After the arrival of DNA analyser, the Lab would seek the service of National Forensic Lab for cases of crime as well, according to DSP Karna. He further said that blood typing can be erroneous at times, and basing legal conclusions on crime cases solely on blood typing can be very dangerous.
"Considering the obvious benefits of the technology, we have been asking the Ministry for Home Affairs for procuring a DNA analyser for our Lab as well," said the DSP. Two separate American and Japanese Police teams, that visited the Lab recently, have shown interest in equipping the Lab with the technology, according to the DSP.
The use of DNA-testing is not limited to solving crime cases. Paternity confirmation is another major use of the technology. The problems faced members of Badi (people living off prostitution, rampant in far-western Nepal) community in getting citizenship certificates owing to unknown paternity, could find their answer in the technology, if the government funds the tests for them.
"Similarly, ‘unknown diseases’ that are often reported to affect our rural populace, can be identified promptly through the technology," said Jha. Extreme use of the technology is in protecting indigenous flora and fauna from being stolen.Posted on: 2003-12-08 04:41
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