Information lapse: Forensics struggles with manpower, systems

The department has not produced a detailed ballistics report over the last eight months.

KARACHI:

Karachi police recently claimed that the two target killers, gunned down by the police about a week ago, were involved in the first two attacks on the Express Media Group. The claims have, however, cast doubt over police integrity as the investigators could not find anything to substantiate the claims.

The two target killers, Mohammad Ali alias Samar Abbas and Bakir Ali, both operatives of the Sipah-e-Mohammad Pakistan, were gunned down by police personnel, minutes after they had murdered a shopkeeper at Nazimabad and injured another in consecutive targeted attacks.

Two days later, the districts West and Central DIG Javed Odho told a press conference that the two deceased were involved in the first two attacks on the Express Media Group. DIG Odho had referenced his claims to a ballistics report of the ammunition used in the attacks. On the contrary, police investigators refuted the claims, saying they had not found any evidence to link the deceased to the attacks. "They were involved in several cases of targeted killings but they had nothing to do with the attacks on the Express Media Group," said the Investigations SSP Zahid Hussain Shah, while speaking to The Express Tribune.

The fact that the Nazimabad SHO Ejaz Lodhi was punished by reducing his service by a year for issuing a statement to the media regarding the suspects' affiliation also casts doubt over the incident. "This was not the first time that the police tried to fix the crime on deceased criminals. Police officers often take advantage of the situation and put the blame of cases under investigation on already deceased criminals," revealed a senior police official.

When approached, DIG Odho, however, maintained that his claims were based on the report issued by the forensic laboratory.

What is ironic is that the forensic department has not conducted a detailed ballistics report that includes the history of the weapon or ammunition used, since the last eight months, The Express Tribune has learnt.  "The forensic division only gives us the case-to-case details and informs us about the type of bore used. They have not included the history of the guns or empties in any of the investigation reports," said a senior investigation officer.

According to the official performance report over the last six months, the Karachi police conducted 11,002 raids and claimed to have arrested 17,743 suspects including 156 target killers. Over 95 per cent of the suspects have so far been released due to lack of evidence.

"The police, particularly in the recent months, have not submitted any forensic report with the complete history of the empties or guns," a special public prosecutor at the Anti-Terrorism Court, Abdul Maroof, told The Express Tribune.

At least 50 gun-related cases are referred to the forensic division on a daily basis. Examiners have, however, stopped matching the history of the empties largely due to the shortage of manpower. According to sources, they have asked for over one dozen more examiners and a separate lab for the purpose. "It is a lengthy process to manually tally the empties with the available data," said the sources. "Until and unless the authorities increase manpower or introduce the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS), this procedure will remain redundant."

Ballistics cross matching is one of the most important tools to investigate cases and ascertain the identity of assailants. It helps investigators establish the history of the weapons or shells used in the crime. "Forensics are really important for investigations and are also admissible as proof in court which may help convict the criminals," the former provincial IGP Shigri told The Express Tribune. "The failure of the forensic division is due to negligence on the part of the government and high-ranking police officials. They should take more interest."

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2014.