News Analysis India

Tag: National Forensic Sciences University

  • Centre aims to make changes in Indian Penal, Criminal Procedure Code and Evidence Act: Amit Shah

    Express News Service

    AHMEDABAD: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the central government aims to make changes in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and the Evidence Act. he also said Govt are going to make forensic probes compulsory for legal for offences attracting punishment of over 6 years. he was addressing the graduating students of the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), Gandhinagar, at its first convocation.

    Addressing the convocation Shah Said” Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the central government is going to make changes in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and the Evidence Act, because nobody saw these laws from an Indian perspective after independence,”

    “These laws need to be reframed from the perspective of independent India. Therefore, we have been consulting a lot of people to change the IPC, CrPC and the Evidence Act,” he said while addressing the convocation as its chief guest.

    He also said that The government aims to make forensic investigation “compulsory and legal” for offences attracting punishment of more than six years, “Under this, we are going to make the provision of forensic evidence compulsory and legal for offences attracting more than six years of punishment,” the Union minister said.

    “When forensic evidence will be made compulsory and legal for offences with more than six years of punishment, then you can imagine how many forensic science expert graduates and double graduates will be required,” he told the gathering, adding that none of the graduating NFSU students will remain withoutplacement.

    “The Centre has set a target of taking the conviction rate higher than even developed countries and integrate the criminal justice system with forensic science investigation.” Shah Said

    The government will provide a forensic mobile investigation facility in each district of the country and create a legal structure to ensure that independence and partiality of the investigation is maintained, he said.

    On the occasion, Shah also inaugurated three Centres of Excellence in DNA Forensics, Cyber Security, and Investigative and Forensic Psychology at the NFSU, and said he is certain they will prove beneficial for the country’s criminal justice system.

    “These three centres will also be the big centres of research and development apart from education and training…I can assure you that with the new journey in the field of research and development, India will become the global hub of forensic science in these three sectors. We will be at the forefront of theworld in this direction,” the Union minister said.

    More than 1000 students were conferred master’s degrees while 65 students will be awarded the gold medal on occasion.

    AHMEDABAD: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the central government aims to make changes in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and the Evidence Act. he also said Govt are going to make forensic probes compulsory for legal for offences attracting punishment of over 6 years. he was addressing the graduating students of the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), Gandhinagar, at its first convocation.

    Addressing the convocation Shah Said” Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the central government is going to make changes in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and the Evidence Act, because nobody saw these laws from an Indian perspective after independence,”

    “These laws need to be reframed from the perspective of independent India. Therefore, we have been consulting a lot of people to change the IPC, CrPC and the Evidence Act,” he said while addressing the convocation as its chief guest.

    He also said that The government aims to make forensic investigation “compulsory and legal” for offences attracting punishment of more than six years, “Under this, we are going to make the provision of forensic evidence compulsory and legal for offences attracting more than six years of punishment,” the Union minister said.

    “When forensic evidence will be made compulsory and legal for offences with more than six years of punishment, then you can imagine how many forensic science expert graduates and double graduates will be required,” he told the gathering, adding that none of the graduating NFSU students will remain without
    placement.

    “The Centre has set a target of taking the conviction rate higher than even developed countries and integrate the criminal justice system with forensic science investigation.” Shah Said

    The government will provide a forensic mobile investigation facility in each district of the country and create a legal structure to ensure that independence and partiality of the investigation is maintained, he said.

    On the occasion, Shah also inaugurated three Centres of Excellence in DNA Forensics, Cyber Security, and Investigative and Forensic Psychology at the NFSU, and said he is certain they will prove beneficial for the country’s criminal justice system.

    “These three centres will also be the big centres of research and development apart from education and training…I can assure you that with the new journey in the field of research and development, India will become the global hub of forensic science in these three sectors. We will be at the forefront of the
    world in this direction,” the Union minister said.

    More than 1000 students were conferred master’s degrees while 65 students will be awarded the gold medal on occasion.

  • US Dept of Defense joins NFSU in search of 400 personnel missing since WW II

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: The Department of Defense of the USA has intensified efforts to find and recover the remains of its over 400 personnel who had gone missing in India during World War II by joining hands with Gandhinagar- based National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU).

    Scientific experts at the NFSU will help the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency (DPAA), a part of the Department of Defense (DoD) of the USA, to recover and identify these missing personnel to bring closure to their families.

    “The mission of DoD agency- Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency (DPAA) is to provide the fullest possible accounting for the missing personnel to their families and their nation,” DPAA mission project manager at NFSU, Dr Gargi Jani, has said.

    She said the Agency’s teams locate, identify, and repatriate the remains of the unaccounted-for service members from America’s past conflicts including World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and Iraq and Persian Gulf Wars.

    “There are over 81,800 Department of Defense personnel of the US who are still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War, the Korean War, the Cold War, and the World War II, and over 400 are missing in India,” she said in a statement.

    Jani said the NFSU will scientifically and logistically assist the DPAA in their mission.

    “Partnering with DPAA in their noble mission is an honour, NFSU-DPAA will leverage the joint efforts in India to provide with fullest possible accounting to families of the missing personals,” Jani stated.

    The DAPP recently facilitated the last rites of US citizen Justin G Mills (25) who had died in World War II in 1943.

    “Marine Corps Reserve 1st Lt. Justin G.Mills of Galveston, Texas, killed during World War II, was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery May 26, 2021. In November 1943, Mills was killed on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island in the fight with Japanese forces.

    “His remains were reportedly buried in the Central Division Cemetery, and later to the Lone Palm Cemetery on Betio Island. Mills was recovered in 2014 and accounted for in 2019. Mills” niece and nephew were on hand to finally welcome their uncle home and lay him to rest,” as per the DAPP website.

    The Gilbert Islands after its independence from the British are now called the Republic of Kiribati and it is an independent island nation in the central Pacific Ocean.

    “We are privileged and enthusiastic to enter into this formal partnership with India”s National Forensic Science University. Their renowned expertise and capabilities will advance our efforts to find and recover the remains of Americans missing from World War II in India,” Kelly McKeague, DPAA Director was quoted as saying in a statement by the DAPP.

    McKeague highlighted the importance of the support of another nation in this endeavour.

    “The DPAA teams are currently in Cambodia and the Philippines (to find remains of missing soldiers), and a large team left Honolulu Feb. 20 for a 60-day mission in Vietnam,” the statement said.

    The teams are following health and safety guidelines, and in doing so, these countries are willing to allow the DPAA back to continue their mission, it said.

    The DPAA has also established a three-way partnership with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and the NSFU with the virtual signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated May 27, to develop academic exchanges and cooperation in teaching and research.

    With this MoU, the NFSU is hopeful to develop academic exchanges and cooperation in teaching and research in the areas of forensic anthropology, forensic archaeology and forensic odontology activities, it said.

    NFSU Vice-Chancellor Dr J M Vyas said the partnership with the DPAA will enable the scientific exchange in the areas of forensic anthropology and odontology and develop best practices for human identification.

    “The NFSU has always taken a lead to promote forensics in a criminal investigation. This kind of partnership will create unique research opportunities and student exchange also,” he said in a statement.

    The NFSU was recently given the status of an Institution of National Importance and is the world’s first and only university dedicated to Forensic and allied sciences.