Rohini FSL deploys new tech to identify meat samples, to help expedite slaughter cases probe

New Delhi, December 19

Cases related to illegal slaughter of animals, including cow, may now be solved expeditiously in Delhi with the forensic laboratory at Rohini using a new technology to identify the animal that has been butchered.

The Rohini FSL started using the Mitochondrial DNA technology in August this year, and has helped solve 22 cases of animal slaughter since then. According to officials, this is the first lab in north India to deploy the technique to identify the animal that has been slaughtered and ascertain its sex.

The laboratory has deployed an automated DNA extraction instrument and a Real-Time PCR instrument based on mitochondrial DNA technology—Mitochondrial DNA is the physical embodiment of genetic information encoded in mitochondrion—to identify the animal and its sex.

According to Delhi Police officials, the facility will help them solve cases of illegal slaughter expeditiously as they have to wait for long duration when they send the samples outside the city.

They said slaughter of certain animals hurts the religious feelings of people so police need to take expeditious action in such cases to avoid any tension. There has been cases where people accused of illegal cow slaughter were lynched to death by mobs. 

During the probe of animal slaughter, even though a case is registered, the police depend on forensic evidence to first identify the species through the meat recovered, and then to determine its sex, according to senior FSL senior scientific officer Naresh Kumar.

“When someone is caught and claims he was transporting buff, yet it is an illegal act of slaughter which also comes under the Animal Slaughtering Act,” he told PTI.

He said apart from cow and buffalo meat, the lab now can also identify chicken meat. “We started getting queries in one-two cases where the client being strictly vegetarian wanted to know if they were delivered non-vegetarian food. So, that is a new species added to the facility for identification.”      A senior Delhi police officer explained how the facility helps them solve animal slaughter cases expeditiously.

When the identity of the animal is very clear right at the scene of crime, one need not take the help of forensic experts, he said. “But in cases where one gets only remains, blood samples or flesh, the forensic report helps ascertain the identity of the species.”       The testing facility also helps in curbing the serious issue of meat adulteration, FSL officials said.

A senior FSL official said they recently tackled a case where a suspected mixture of two meats was being illegally transported in a car. “All we got was the blood samples of the mixed meat from the vehicle. So, in that case based on the blood samples, we identified it had both cow and buffalo meat,” he said.

Elaborating the procedure followed during the identification of the sample sent by the police for determination, the senior officials at the FSL said once the sample is collected by the police, it gets preserved under -20 degrees Celsius temperature.           

It is important that in the absence of the FSL team at the scene of crime, the police are trained to preserve the lifted sample by applying dry salt on it and preserve it in an air-tight plastic or glass containers, he said.

Explaining the details of testing, the official said, “Generally, pieces of meat or bones are extracted, then using the mitochondrial DNA technology and a special kit composed of chemical mixture with a base of a particular species is applied against it.

“If the sample gets amplified, it means the meat is of a cow. If not, we use another kit consisting the base of a buffalo, and if the DNA extracted sample does not get amplified, it means it is not buffalo meat. So, this way, the identification of the species is done,” he said.

Later, the sex determination is also carried out and the report is submitted to the police.

According to officials, well-preserved samples bring out the best results.

FSL director Deepa Verma said, “If it gets deteriorated, it is not that we would not get the results at all. In such cases, our experts will try multiple times but there are also chances that we may not get the best results but in comparison to good quality preservation, it results in 95 per cent confirmation.”

She said it is the first time that mitochondrial DNA technology is being used in north India in analysing and determining the sex of the animal samples.

After they started probing wildlife-related crimes using the technology in August this year, the Delhi Police has approached them with 35 cases of suspected cow or buffalo slaughter out of which 22 cases have already been solved, officials said.

“As per our analysis, maximum of these cases are related to cow slaughtering,” said Kumar, the FSL senior scientific officer. PTI

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