WCD to give specially-designed rape investigation kits to police, hospitals

The Ministry of Women and Children Development (WCD) will be distributing specially-designed kits to all police stations and hospitals to carry out immediate medical investigation into sexual assault cases, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi said today.

The rape investigation kits are being procured by state governments with financial support under the Nirbhaya Fund, she said.

The fund, named after a Delhi rape victim, aims to support initiatives by the government and NGOs working towards ensuring safety of women in India.

For swift investigation in rape cases, the ministry is ensuring that police stations and hospitals across the country are equipped with the specially-designed rape evidence kits, Gandhi said.

She said the kit comprises essential items which will aid in furnishing evidence such as blood and semen samples in sexual assault and rape cases.

These kits will also contain instructions on the evidence that needs to be collected from the crime scene, the minister said.

The kit would be sent to the closest lab and within two months one would have the results, Gandhi said.

The minister, while listing the achievements of her government in the last four years, said the Sakshi Suraksha Advanced DNA Laboratory has been started in Chandigarh for forensic analysis of samples collected from rape victims.

Gandhi said forensic labs would come up in Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Bhopal and Guwahati.

"Once a proper identification of sexual crime has been made and all the evidence has been gathered, the time-line for rape leading to conviction could be cut by years," she said.