Mumbai Crime: Demand grows for return of special homicide squad

To ensure crucial scientific evidence are not lost from a scene of crimeincident and during an autopsy which would in turn help improvise the conviction rate the Mumbai police had in 2016 formed their own Special Homicide Investigation Squad but not many serving police officers are aware of its existenceNow with the ongoing investigation into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput there has been a fresh call for revival of the squad Experts believe if Mumbai police had the special squad now the forensic evidence would have helped them rule out any foul play in Rajputs alleged suicide caseThe squad was the brainchild of Dr Walter Vaz former professor and head of department Forensic Medicine and Toxicology KEM Hospital Dr Vaz had chalked out the plan for the squad which the city Crime Branch found quite useful back thenTo improve conviction rateMeeran Borwankar who was then the joint commissioner of police Crime Branch Mumbai said The Special Homicide Investigation Squad would help zonal investigators in collection of scientific evidence from the crime scene and liaison with medical colleges and forensic experts when needed We would also collaborate with other state investigating agencies and CBI for investigation of complicated homicide or human trafficking casesBorwankar retired DGP BPRampD Delhi said the fall in conviction rate especially in homicidal cases made the city police department bring in the special squad in 2006 Though I would not know how much it helped in improving the conviction rates off hand A retired forensic expert said After coroner system of inquiry into a death was abolished in 1999 the medical examiner system should have come into force wherein ideally a team of forensic specialists consisting of forensic medicine forensic photographer finger print expert forensic scientists and police but unfortunately the scenario is far different from reality and instead the police inquest us 174 of CrPc came into existence Such coordinated teams must be brought back under one roof Dr Shailesh Mohite professor and head of the department Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at Topiwala National Medical College also called for a reformation in medico legal cases He said forensic evidence is crucial in assault cases tooIt is the need of the hour to have such specialised squad formed and the same need not be merely on paper but it should be used in practice and not just in homicidal cases but even those cases where death are suspicious said Dr Mohite who is also Medico Legal Association of Maharashtra president Dr Mohite said the advice of the squad team region wise should even be used in ante mortem cases example mdash violence against womenMumbai has five regions mdash South Central West East and North Region and each police station in the region can reach out to the designated medical colleges Nair LTMG KEM Cooper and Grant Medical College in their respective regions to seek advice and for better coordinationWouldve helped in SSR caseDr Mohite acknowledged that the existence of a special squad today would have helped a lot in the deaths of Rajput and his former manager Disha SalianDr Rajesh Dhere secretary of the Medico Legal Association of Maharashtra said The idea of formation of the said squad was with an intent to collect maximum forensic and scientific evidences from the crime scene investigation so that all such forensic evidences could be assembled analysed and applied in true sense of law so that justice is not denied to the victim of homicidal act or victim of an abuse Dr S M Patil police surgeon who is also medico legal advisor for Maharashtra said It is the need of the hour to have such special squads A police officer said It is a welcome idea as it will help the policemen who are already overburdened with routine policing to work along with forensic experts This would ensure we dont miss out on any crucial evidenceExpert speaksRohini Salian former chief public prosecutor said It is high time that the investigating police team and forensic experts work hand in hand from the beginning in a case Formation of a special squad is very crucial from the criminal justice aspect Scientific evidence is considered primary evidence under the Indian Evidence Act which is crucial for improving the conviction rateObjectives of special homicide investigation squad as suggested by Professor Walter VazCollection of evidence from the scene of offenceServices of Forensic Medicine experts be available from the stage of scene of crime till postmortemCoordination between Forensic Medicine Experts and the Investigating officers through out the investigationEvidential support during trialPlan of actionEach Regional Additional Commissioner of Police to contact HOD Forensic Medicine of the Government hospital in his area Get two expert nominated for special Homicide Investigation squadKeep contact details of teams with Regional control rooms with copies to the main control roomDiscuss the need of Special Homicide Investigation Squads with the zonal officers and seek their active involvementExpected resultsImproving investigation of serious complicated murder casesSuccessful prosecutionFormation of Special Homicide Squad is for better coordination collection of evidences and successful prosecutionCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news