PATNA, Dec. 19 -- To strengthen scientific investigation into crimes and speed up detection, the Bihar government had expanded its fleet of mobile forensic vans from 17 to 51 across the state, a senior official said on Thursday. With this expansion, six large districts-- including Patna, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Gaya, Motihari and Madhubani--where maximum cases are registered, will now have at least two mobile forensic vans, facilitating broader and quicker access to forensic services. CM Nitish Kumar on Thursday flagged off 34 forensic mobile lab vehicles at a function held at his official residence. The chief minister along with deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, DGP Vinay Kumar, ADG (CID) Paras Nath and principal home secretary Arbind Choudhary Kumar inspected the vans and reviewed the facilities and equipment installed in them. The CM said the initiative was part of the government's broader focus on strengthening law and order since 2005, including a policy of zero tolerance towards crime and corruption. He said delays in sending samples from crime scenes to forensic laboratories had often slowed investigations and caused distress to victims' families. The vehicles are specially designed and equipped with advanced forensic tools to support on-the-spot evidence collection and analysis. These mobile units will aid the effective implementation of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). This new criminal law mandates forensic certification of evidence in cases with punishments exceeding seven years. It has been stated that each forensic lab vehicle equipped with a drug detection kit, explosive kit, fingerprint/footprint lifting system, blood collection kit, DNA sample collecting kit, fridge, generator, cyber security-related software, explosives detection kit, drug detection kit, document testing equipment, high quality camera and video documentation system, and other facilities. These vehicles will enable primary testing of any criminal incident on the crime scene itself. With the help of this, quick collection of evidence, scientific protection and proper adherence to the chain of custody will be possible at the scene, which will minimise the possibility of destruction or tampering with the evidence. "These mobile forensic vans will enable forensic experts to promptly reach crime scenes in all districts and conduct preliminary examinations on-site. Even remote or under-resourced areas will benefit from advanced forensic capabilities," said ADG Paras Nath. Paras Nath said the latest parameters of scientific investigation were crucial for cases involving sentences of seven years or more. "The forensic team will preserve crime scene samples, maintaining them at appropriate temperatures for biological samples before sending them to the forensic science laboratory. The mobile forensic vans can instantly determine whether blood at a crime scene is of human or animal origin," he added. The state has forensic science laboratories in Patna, regional forensic laboratories in Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Rajgir. In addition to this, district mobile forensic units have been approved in all districts. At present, 17 mobile forensic vehicles are available in the forensic science laboratory and regional forensic laboratory in Patna, Darbhanga, West Champaran, Saran, Gaya and Rohtas for criminal crime scene visits of experts in the state....