Student-faculty team of the Khalsa college's forensic science unit develops multi-purpose fingerprint detecting composition

Updated on: Monday, November 19, 2012

Delhi University's SGTB Khalsa College has come up with a technique of developing fingerprints, even on substances, which are destroyed deliberately or by natural weather conditions. The student-faculty team of the college's forensic science unit claims it is an effective technique applicable to a number of objects.

Under the innovation project, 'fluorescent powder compositions for developing latent fingerprints,' the team has developed a multi-purpose fingerprint detecting composition. This powder is not surface-specific, i.e, it can be used on a broad spectrum of objects.

"The students have been visiting crime scenes along with the mobile crime team's lab personnel of Delhi Police. During the interactions we discovered that although the police personnel are issued fingerprint kits, in which different compositions can be used on different items, they use the kit components randomly in a non-scientific manner. For a better mechanism, we decided to come up with this multi-use technique," says GS Sodhi, associate professor, department of chemistry and coordinator of the forensic science unit.

The fluorescent powder works on weapons/articles immersed in water, deliberately or accidentally. Using the powder, fingerprints could be developed on these substances, if recovered within 36 hours. The composition is fluorescent in nature and hence assists in detecting weak, faint fingerprints. It works on articles including CDs, metallic, ceramics, absorbent, etc. The powder works on evidence, which is buried in soil or snow, if recovered within 12 hours.

VN Sehgal, former director, Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI), is the mentor of the project. He says that the formula is useful to detect invisible clues like fingerprints for crime scene evidence. The department has written to the dean of education and research respectively, to file a patent on the developed technique. The college has already submitted the project for comments to the university.

Malashri Lal, dean, academic activities and projects, DU says, "It is a highly costeffective measure and a novel discovery by the team. Now, it has to be taken to the next stage, which is being acknowledged in the public domain." The oneyear project will be completed in May 2013.

Student-faculty team of the Khalsa college's forensic science unit develops multi-purpose fingerprint detecting composition

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