LAHORE, May 25: The Punjab government is making the collection of DNA data of criminals compulsory to help police investigate effectively.

It will start the process by taking blood samples of at least 500 prisoners in the Punjab jails.

Official sources told Dawn on Sunday that the collection of the DNA data of criminals would be made compulsory by amending the CrPC’s clause about the admissibility of evidence. The list in the clause included steps like chemical examination of a victim’s body through the forensic science laboratory.

The government has already declared the results of the DNA tests conducted by the Punjab University’s Microbiology Centre of Excellence legally valid. The same institution had also conducted the DNA test of the remains of American journalist Daniel Pearl who was killed in Karachi.

Some private laboratories are conducting the DNA tests in Pakistan, but their results do not have any legal support. Each test costs about Rs10,000.

The idea of conducting the tests as evidence has trickled down to the province through the federal ministry of science and technology.

The sources said the government intended to collect DNA data of all known criminals to help police properly investigate cases. Initially, the data of 500 criminals would be collected through their blood tests, and it would be fed to computers to help police detect crime.

They said the police would be authorized to conduct the DNA tests of everyone involved in any case and use them for crime detection in future.

According to the sources, the only hurdle in the way of the legality of the DNA tests is their application in the family suits, especially which required establishment of paternity.

The civil courts were loaded with such cases and the permission to use the DNA tests in them would create a lot of trouble. “Keeping in view the social and religious implications, the government is considering how to tackle the issue. It will also consult the federal Shariat court before making a final decision,” they said.

They said the federal government was establishing a sophisticated forensic science laboratory where police officers would be given training on modern techniques of investigation. The techniques would include how to lift the DNA samples from the bodies of victims or the scene of the crime, and to match them with the data available in the computers.

“The police are currently investigating cases through traditional methods. The DNA tests will help them a great deal in reaching the real criminals,” they said.— Intikhab Hanif