Patna, Jan 19 (PTI) Bihar Police has sent a proposal for operationalising six Forensic Science Laboratories (FSLs) in the state at an estimated cost of Rs 163 crore to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs,
a senior officer said on Monday.
Currently, there are four FSLs in Bihar—one state FSL in Patna and three regional ones in Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Rajgir.
ADGP (CID) Paras Nath told reporters, "We have proposed Rs 163 crore to make FSLs operational in six more locations. The proposal went from police headquarters to the Home department and then to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
He said that if sanctioned, the police will purchase the equipment and operationalise the six new regional forensic science laboratories in 2026.
The ADGP also said that an agreement was signed with National Forensic Science University (NFSU) to start cyber forensic units in July 2025, and the process to buy the necessary items has begun.
"For FSL Patna and the regional forensic science laboratory in Rajgir, located at the Bihar Police Academy, we had an agreement with NFSU to start cyber forensic units in July 2025, and the process to buy the necessary items has begun," he said.
The ADGP said that the police have 85 senior scientific assistants and 44 gazetted officers across all forensic labs and districts.
"However, we still have vacancies for 100 senior scientific officers and 89 assistant directors. We expect suitable candidates to join on a contractual basis by the end of this month or in February post-verification, which will help us speed up our exhibit investigations," the ADGP said.
He asserted that since the enactment of new criminal laws on July 1, 2024, the "value of forensics in investigations" has increased significantly.
In 2025, 56,511 exhibits were investigated in 10,955 cases throughout the year by FSL teams.
"Regarding FSL team's visits for cases involving more than seven years, one officer or employee has been deputed in each district, who go to the scene using available forensic vans or other vehicles provided to all districts and carry out the necessary procedures under the new laws," the officer said.
The ADGP also claimed that the number of mobile forensic vans has reached 51 across all districts of the state, up from 17.
"The vans were purchased and flagged off by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar about two months ago, and have been allocated to all districts," he said. PTI SUK RG
