India, Aug. 17 -- New Delhi: The Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Delhi, which is one of the seven CFSLs in India and the only one under the administrative control of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is facing a severe staff shortage. This, in turn, is hampering probes into cases that the CBI is investigating.

Out of this laboratory's sanctioned strength of 154, only 80 staffers (including the director) are there. More importantly, the maximum number of these vacancies is at the level of scientific officers and laboratory assistants who do the bulk of the investigation in the cases entrusted with the laboratory.

Of the total sanctioned strength of 153 scientific officers, scientific assistants and laboratory assista...