The Post Graduate Department of Criminology and Forensic Science had organized an academic visit to the Questioned Document Division of the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL), Kuntikana, Mangaluru for second year Questioned Document and Impression Evidence (QDIE) specialization on 22nd May, 2023 at 10:30 am. Mr. Roshan D’Souza, Assistant Professor, Department of MSc Criminology and Forensic Science of the college accompanied the students.
The main aim of the visit was to know the structure and functions of the QD division of RFSL, to learn the forensic analysis of documents using modern Instruments and to get an insight into the expert opinion provided by the scientific officers. The students could get a practical exposure to the Forensic Questioned Document Division with the advanced instruments. They interacted with the Scientific Officer Mr. Raghavendra Naik who explained about the establishment of the Questioned Document Division, meaning of document, questioned document, natural variation, standard writings, class characteristics and individual characteristics. He showed Form No.156 and expert opinion that was submitted to the court. Further, he demonstrated the comparison of handwriting, signatures and seal using Video Spectral Comparator (VSC). Lastly, he explained the types of forgeries and demonstrated the decipherment of indented writings using VSC. He clarified the doubts of students regarding analysis of documents and providing expert opinion.
Students expressed that the visit was very informative and got to learn about the working principles of VSC with the original cases. Visits helped them to interact with the scientific officers to get more knowledge about the expert opinion provided and their testimony in the court. The visit concluded at 1.00pm with a vote of thanks. Altogether, 15 students, a faculty of the department and 3 scientific officers were part of the interaction.
