Brochure | Forensic Studies | Criminal Science

Air India Crash: AIIMS forensic expert explains how victims’ bodies are identified after a blaze this severe

2025-06-16 - 2025-06

As authorities begin handing over the remains of those killed in Thursday’s Air India crash in Ahmedabad, not all identifications will require DNA testing, Dr Sudhir Gupta, head of the forensic medicine department at AIIMS, New Delhi, told The Indian Express.

Gupta, who has worked on several mass casualty events—including the 1996 mid-air collision near Charkhi Dadri that killed all 349 people on board both planes and the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire tragedy, both of which involved the identification of charred bodies—explained that when there is a verified list of passengers, it is often possible to identify victims using physical evidence alone.

Oldest known human fingerprint discovered on ancient Neanderthal artwork – with help from Spain’s forensic police

2025-06-12 - 2025-06

A unique archaeological find has recently expanded our knowledge of Neanderthals’ capacity for symbolic thought. The object in question is a granite stone, on which a red ochre dot was deliberately applied to reinforce the image of a human face. It is, to date, the oldest example of portable art associated with Neanderthals.

The most remarkable aspect of this discovery was the identification of a fingerprint in the pigment, at a level we have unequivocally dated to more than 42,000 years ago.

The fingerprint means the find is direct evidence of a symbolic action that we can attribute to a Neanderthal human (Homo neanderthalensis).

Ball State Trains Students for Critical Careers in Forensic Science

2025-05-31 - 2025-05

When Ball State University unveiled its bachelor of science in forensic science program in fall 2024, it marked a significant achievement for both the university and the East Central Indiana region. It is the first comprehensive forensic science program in the state and is expected to help meet the growing demand for a workforce trained to tackle modern investigative challenges.

Ball State’s program comes at a time when forensic science has seen a surge in public interest, partly fueled by media but also due to its critical role in modern law enforcement and criminal justice systems. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for forensic science technicians across the country is projected to grow some 13% by 2032.

Amit Shah lays foundation stone of National Forensic Science University campus in Nagpur

2025-05-26 - 2025-05

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday laid the foundation stone of the permanent campus of the National Forensic Science University in Nagpur district, marking a significant step towards enhancing forensic education in Maharashtra, officials said.

Shah laid the first brick of the facility, located at Chicholi in Kamptee Tehsil, in a traditional ritual, followed by the virtual inauguration of the temporary campus, an official statement said.

NFSU is the world’s only university dedicated to forensic science, with the Nagpur campus becoming its 11th, it said. The other existing campuses are in Gujarat, New Delhi, Goa, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Manipur, Pune, and Uganda.

The Nagpur campus will create skilled forensic experts, aiding law enforcement in preventing, reducing, and solving crimes. It will strengthen forensic capabilities across stakeholders and address law-and-order challenges, ultimately expediting justice delivery, said the release.

The campus is set to offer five courses in forensic science and cybersecurity, starting from the 2025-26 academic year, the statement said.

Forensic Science Faces an Identity CrisisIt’s

2025-05-19 - 2025-05

a question that engenders anxiety in many scientific disciplines, and with good reason. Information about a patient’s family history may nudge a doctor towards the right diagnosis, or tip them towards a wrong one. Awareness of a suspect’s criminal past may help an investigator read a crime scene correctly, or unwittingly inculpate an innocent person. When the ground truth is inaccessible, it’s difficult to know where the line lies. The age-old dilemma has erupted anew, in forensic science, and it’s dividing the field.

While some forensic analysis techniques fare better than others, everything short of DNA analysis has been shown to be widely variable in reliability.
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The catalyst was the publication, in 2022, of a document that went unnoticed beyond the field. Sixteen forensic scientists from six countries, in what they called the Sydney Declaration, claimed that their discipline was in an “intractable state of crisis.” The core purpose of the forensic scientist, as defined at the field’s birth in the early 20th century, was the study of the trace — any vestige of human activity — in the context of a crime scene. Their job was to examine the scene, formulate hypotheses of what had happened there, and direct the collection of evidence that would allow those hypotheses to be tested. Instead, the authors claimed, the scientist had become a technician, performing specialized analyses in a lab, on evidence divorced of all context. Forensic science had lost sight of its raison d’être.

Forensic Shake-Up: SEBI Removes Big 4 from List

2025-05-03 - 2025-05

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has significantly reduced the number of empanelled forensic auditors for listed companies, downsizing the list from 20 firms in 2022 to just 9 in 2025.

The regulator’s decision, according to people familiar with the development, is driven by a desire to create a “short and manageable” list populated by firms that have a consistent engagement history and proven performance track record over the past three years.

Surprisingly, this streamlining has seen the exit of industry stalwarts such as Ernst & Young, KPMG Assurance and Consulting Services, and Grant Thornton Bharat. Among the Big Four firms, only Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India retains its spot on the new panel.

While SEBI has not released an official explanation, sources indicate that a firm’s past performance—particularly adherence to audit timelines and the quality of reports—played a pivotal role in the selection. The regulator also awarded extra points to firms that delivered on time, aligning with SEBI’s goal to enhance accountability and efficiency in financial investigations.

Silent marks, loud clues: How DNA methylation is revolutionizing forensic science

2025-04-30 - 2025-04

Forensic science has always relied heavily on the power of DNA to solve crimes, establish identities, and uncover hidden truths. Traditional DNA profiling, based on the comparison of genetic sequences has solved thousands of cases worldwide.

However, as forensic challenges have evolved, scientists have realized that sometimes knowing who a person is just isn’t enough. Questions like “How old is the contributor”, “What tissue type does this DNA belong to”, or “Is this biological material from one twin or another” have demanded more advanced tools.

Enter DNA methylation- a subtle but incredibly powerful layer of genetic regulation that is now transforming the forensic landscape.

What is DNA methylation

DNA methylation is a fundamental biochemical process by which a methyl group (–CH) is covalently added to the fifth carbon atom of a cytosine ring, primarily within the context of a CpG dinucleotide (a cytosine followed by a guanine linked by a phosphate bond). This reaction is catalyzed by a family of enzymes known as DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs). Although the underlying DNA sequence remains unchanged, methylation profoundly influences gene expression, typically repressing or silencing genes when occurring at promoter regions.

Forensic Science

2025-04-25 - 2025-04

YLR Host, Jeff Hayden, and co-host, David Bigeleisen, are joined by an all-star cast: David Feigman, the Dean of U.C. College of the law, San Francisco, who has written extensively on science and the law, and Bruce Alberts; a past president of the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Bruce Alberts is the editor of Science magazine, and was awarded the National Medal of Science by former President Barak Obama.

Our discussion might include a discussion on "Good Science" versus "junk science", and question: What is the state of science education in our country What is the state of scientific inquiry and research in our country, given the current administration How do we train lawyers to present science in court How do we train judges to decide which evidence to allow juries to hear and which to reject

State's first: Forensic psychological autopsy used to probe suicide

2025-04-23 - 2025-04

Previously, the Mumbai police used this technique while investigating actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide case, and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team employed FPA in the 2018 Burari deaths in Delhi.

Bengaluru: For the first time in Karnataka, a technique called forensic psychological autopsy (FPA) has been used to investigate a suicide case.

How Security Analyst Using Memory Forensics Tools To Enhance Advanced Incident Response

2025-04-19 - 2025-04

Memory forensics has become an indispensable component of modern incident response strategies, enabling security teams to detect and analyze sophisticated threats that would otherwise remain hidden.

Unlike traditional disk forensics, memory analysis provides insights into running processes, network connections, and malicious code executed directly in RAM, capturing volatile evidence that disappears when a system powers down.
As threat actors increasingly employ fileless malware and sophisticated evasion techniques, memory forensics tools have evolved to offer more comprehensive capabilities for security professionals.

Four districts get high-tech forensic vans for on-spot crime scene analysis

2025-04-17 - 2025-04

Investigating crimes in Haryana just got smarter and faster with the deployment of high-tech Forensic Investigation Vans in Gurugram, Faridabad, Panchkula, and Sonepat. These mobile forensic labs, provided by the National Forensic Science University (NFSU), Gandhinagar through the Ministry of...
Four districts get high-tech forensic vans for on-spot crime scene analysis
Investigating crimes in Haryana just got smarter and faster with the deployment of high-tech Forensic Investigation Vans in Gurugram, Faridabad, Panchkula, and Sonepat. These mobile forensic labs, provided by the National Forensic Science University (NFSU), Gandhinagar through the Ministry.

Investigating crimes in Haryana just got smarter and faster with the deployment of high-tech Forensic Investigation Vans in Gurugram, Faridabad, Panchkula, and Sonepat.

These mobile forensic labs, provided by the National Forensic Science University (NFSU), Gandhinagar through the Ministry of Home Affairs, are equipped with advanced tools to conduct on-the-spot evidence analysis and generate preliminary reports.

Faridabad Police Commissioner Satender Kumar Gupta, after inspecting one such van, said, “The objective of the new law is to provide justice at a fast pace, which is possible only when the Forensic Science Laboratory report is received quickly. If this van is present at the crime scene, samples can be taken immediately and a preliminary investigation report can be given.”

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