Justice Alam asks for greater use of forensic evidence

Praising the use of forensic evidence in resolving the 26/11 Mumbai attack case, Supreme Court judge Justice Aftab Alam today asked the police to pursue scientific methods of collecting evidence in addition to ocular evidence.
"We have seen the wonders of forensic evidences in the trial of 26/11 case," Justice Alam told the concluding session of the three-day 43rd Police Science Congress here.
Ballistic evidence collected from the CST Mumbai where Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab had opened fire with an AK47, had helped in "precisely" establishing the case, he said.
There was no ocular evidence to establish that the attackers had come to Mumbai by ferry, but the matching of DNA samples collected from a jacket left on MV Kuber and the monkey cap of Kasab unravelled the mystery, he said at the congress, which was attended by policemen from across the country.

Forensic analysis of articles collected from the attackers proved vital in solving the Mumbai terror attack case, Alam said.
"Resources are available in the country, which the police could use in faster resolution of blind cases," he added.

Stressing on timely completion of cases by the police, he said "If an IO (investigating officer) fails to complete investigation in 60 to 90 days, accountability should be fixed on the policeman concerned."
He asked the policemen not to pay allegiance to political power, but to the Constitution and democratic values.
"If it happens, it will be a great day for the police and the police system," he added.