Jharkhand is set to launch at least 25 mobile forensic laboratories in a bid to ensure speedy investigation of crimes following a high court observation that the Forensic Science Lab (FSL) in Ranchi was in “primitive” stage and forensic facilities in the state were in dire need of an upgrade, sources in the Home, Prison and Disaster Management Department of the state said on Tuesday.

The mobile forensic labs, equipped with the latest technology and facilities, will be made operational in all 24 districts and report to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Ranchi, officials said.

State Home Secretary Rajeev Arun Ekka admitted that his department was planning to upgrade the infrastructure for forensic science in the state, but refused to divulge details.

According to a highly-placed source in the home department, the mobile forensic labs will be set up in SUVs and will have facilities like ballistic kit, blood sample kit and photography kit. These vehicles will go to a crime spot and collect evidence for further study, the source added.

Equipping the mobile forensic laboratories with the latest gadgets and technology will not only speed up investigation in crime cases but also increase the efficiency of the results drawn through the various forensic tests conducted in these vans.

While hearing a case related to the death of Dhanbad district court judge Uttam Anand, who was hit by an autorickshaw as a part of an alleged conspiracy on July 28, the Jharkhand High Court observed that the Forensic Science Lab in Ranchi did not have equipment to conduct urine and blood tests of the accused.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the case, informed the court that the sample of urine and blood collected from the accused had to be sent to New Delhi for forensic studies. Following this, the court had directed the Home Secretary and FSL director to be present in the next hearing of the case via online medium.

“We have considered it very seriously that when the urine and blood testing facility of the accused is not available in the F.S.L., Ranchi, the capital of the State of Jharkhand, then for what purpose this department is functioning. Even after more than twenty years from the date of its creation, the State F.S.L. Ranchi appears to be still in primitive stage,” the court order of August 25 read.