KOTTAYAM: The Kerala police should use the world-class facilities available at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, to conduct the forensic tests related to the Koodathai serial murder case.
This is the view of Dr Sudhir Kumar Gupta, professor and head of the department of forensic medicine at the AIIMS.
Referring to the Kerala government’s move to seek the help of veteran forensic expert T.D. Dogra in the matter, he said “highly sensitive” forensic tests have to be conducted using modern laboratory facilities.
“The AIIMS has them and the faculty to deal with such a case,” he told this paper over phone. The government should not approach individuals for the purpose, he said.
The scope of these facilities at the AIIMS were proved at the time of the Sheena Bora murder case. The case could be detected even after several years.
Dr Guptha said that it was not necessary to find the poison from the bodies to establish the case in the court.
Circumstantial evidence and the findings of post-mortem were enough. It may not be possible to get the traces of cyanide due to the passage of time, he said.
However, Dr Dogra, who is based in Delhi, said that he had not received any request from the Kerala government and that he was waiting to get the documents needed and the government's final approval.
He has dealt with several high-profile cases, including the autopsy of former prime minister Indira Gandhi after she was shot dead by her security guards in 1984.
