Directorate of Forensic Services, Himachal Pradesh organized a two-day workshop on ‘Forensic Toxicology’

Directorate of Forensic Services, Himachal Pradesh organized a two-day workshop on ‘Forensic Toxicology’ during 4th and 5th March 2024. The main objective of the workshop was to ensure quality results, timely disposal of criminal cases and following international standards under ISO IEC 17025:2017.

Dr. Meenakshi Mahajan, Director Forensic welcomed the Chief Guest Dr. Priyankar Ghosh, Director (Retd.), Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, who is an eminent expert in forensic chemistry and toxicology and is a member of the NABL Working as Lead Assessor and Technical Assessor (Chemical Sciences). At the beginning of the workshop, he informed the participating officers/employees about the main objectives of the workshop. On this occasion Dr. A.K. Jaswal, Senior Scientist, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, expressed his views online and discussed with experts.

During the inaugural session, Dr. Priyankar Ghosh pointed out that almost 50% of the samples in almost all forensic science laboratories in India belong to the forensic chemistry and toxicology sections. The complexity of extracting the poison from the biological matrix is ​​the main reason for the delay in treating cases. He suggested that toxicology requires systematic analysis of samples for each sample. As the laboratory is accredited by an international body like NABL, it plays a very important role in the quality of the analysis result of the samples. He found that all the scientists are highly qualified and the workshop has helped to remove some misconceptions on the analysis of drugs from samples.

Dr. A.K. Jaswal addressed the questions raised by the experts and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of improving services within the Chemistry and Toxicology Division to ensure timely submission of forensic reports. The experts actively participated in the workshop and discussed amongst themselves the forensic toxicology experts to expedite the resolution of the case.

During the workshop, the second meeting of the Scientific Working Group on Chemistry (2019) was also organized under the guidance of Dr. Priyankar Ghosh. The objective of the said meeting was to revise the existing work process manual of chemical science and improve its quality.

A time line has been drawn up to develop work procedure manuals for chemistry and toxicology in line with international standards. The scientists concerned have been allotted the work and asked to complete the work within the stipulated period of two months. Apart from this, Dr. Priyankar Ghosh will keep giving his suggestions from time to time for preparing the work process manual.