That's just what the Forensic Science Laboratory has done, flouting all rules
That's just what the Forensic Science Laboratory has done, flouting all rules
Sanjeev Nanda got a breather from the court after forensic experts said the fingerprints on the car were not his. The drugs recovered from Rahul Mahajan's Delhi house had traces of heroin, forensic experts had claimed.
Forensic evidence plays a key role in prosecuting an accused and conversely saving an innocent. 
Truth serum: Rampant flouting of recuritment rules has been exposed
by a series of RTI applicants . representative photo
But what if you are told that the scientist who is entrusted to look at such cases has been trained to do something else.u00a0When a biologist is hired for testing poisons and an expert in chemical concoctions gets the job of document verification, the results can be anybody's guess.
The new batch of senior scientific officers recruited by the Delhi Forensic Science Laboratory is either under-qualified or does not have relevant experience. In fact some, who have submitted forged documents pertaining to their experience, were also called for interview and got postings in the lab, a series of Right to Information (RTI) pleas has revealed.
Situations vacant
The Delhi government runs the laboratory and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had invited applications for the post of senior scientific officers in different departments of the laboratory through an advertisement in Employment News (28 Feb - 6 Mar, 2009 edition). In addition to a Masters degree in the given subjects, the eligibility criteria mentioned that the candidate should have 3 to 5 years of experience in the relevant field.
"Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had invited applications for the post of senior scientific officers in different departments for FSL, Delhi, by putting an advertisement in Employment News (28 Feb - 6 Mar, 2009 edition). In addition to Masters degree in given subjects, the eligibility criteria mentioned that the candidate should have 3 to 5 years of experience in the relevant field for various department," said an applicant, who works at FSL, Delhi as scientific assistant, seeking anonymity.
"However, several applicants with forged documents pertaining to experience or those who were under-qualified for the job or who had experience in some other field were called for the interview by the UPSC in contravention to the recruitment rules given in the advertisement," he said.
Inscrutable applicants
Sunita Suman who was selected for the Biology department had experience in chemistry. "How can the interview board select such an applicant? Somebody who is well versed with work in a biology lab cannot be expected to deliver in the chemistry department," the RTI applicant said.
Apart from the experience in a different field, Suman had furnished wrong information in her application, saying that she was an employee of the FSL, Delhi. An RTI plea, a copy of which is with MiD DAY, clearly mentions
that she has never worked with the laboratory.
ADVERTISEMENT
Also, Sunita had two different experience certificates from the FSL, Delhi on the same date (March 6, 2009) with varying periods of service undersigned by the Director of the laboratory Dr VK Goyal.
Suman was reportedly in touch with Prof OP Jasuja of the Punjabi University, Patiala, who was one of the experts on the interview board. "They even spoke on the day of the interview. Suman knows Jasuja from her days as a student in the Punjab Technical University. It is intriguing that she knew he was among the interviewers, as the names of the experts are highly confidential," said another RTI applicant.
Forged documents
The multi-layered fraud continues with another applicant Loktongbay Babyto Devi, who was selected as senior scientific officer in the biology department on the basis of her alleged experience in the Manipur State Police FSL, Imphal.
"An RTI plea to the Manipur Police revealed that Devi was never an employee of the state FSL," said the applicant, seeking anonymity.
The UPSC advertisement also mentioned that the period of experience rendered by a candidate on part time basis, daily wages, visiting/guest faculty would not be counted while calculating the valid experience for short-listing the candidates for interview. "However, in the case of Babyto Devi, her experience as a research assistant under additional director, FSL Pangei, Dr S Joychandra Singh was considered valid," the RTI applicant said.
Missing address
Another candidate Imrana who was selected in the biology department had attached a certificate experience from a laboratory by the name of Perfect Analytical Labs limited located in Manish Twin Plaza, Sector 9, Plot number 8 Dwarka. "The application of Imrana also got through in the scrutiny process and later she got selected. Interestingly, an RTI document revealed that there was no such laboratory at the address mentioned by her. The RTI reply from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi reveals there is an apartment complex on the address given by Imrana," he said.
In denial
In a reply to a separate RTI plea, the Delhi FSL has stated that there was no irregularity in the scrutiny process of the applications and the recruitment board had checked the antecedents of the selected candidates. "It could not be true, as exposed in the case of Imrana," said the RTI applicant.
The application form mentions clearly that furnishing of false information or suppression of any factual
| The Other Side |
| I can't talk. I have no authority to talk to the media. |
It also states that if the fact that the candidate has furnished false information or suppressed facts comes to notice at any time during the service of a person, his services would be liable to be terminated.
Some of the candidates who could not make it have also complained to the CAT (Central Administrative Tribunal).
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
