DNA & Serology
Death Penalty Imposed on man for raping his nieces: Case adjudicated on the basis of PFSA Reports
Two minor girls of age 8 years and 12 years reported to their mother, a renowned Pashto singer that their maternal uncle had been subjecting them to sexual assault repeatedly. The perpetrator while residing in the same house would also intimidate the girls by showing videos of slaughtering of kids over his mobile phone so that they may not report their molestation out of fear. Due to professional commitments, both the singer and her husband would mostly be away from home due to which she had called over her brother from Swat to look after the girls and ensure the safety of the home.
The mother of the minor girls did not initially believe the story however one morning she woke up to the sound of crying of her younger daughter. She rushed to the room of her daughter and discovered her brother in naked condition was raping her daughter. She made hue and cry however her brother managed to flee from the scene. He was subsequently taken into police custody and was produced at PFSA for DNA analysis.
Both the girls were produced in the ER for medicolegal examination. The examination of both the girls revealed ruptured hymen along with inflammation of the perineal area. Vaginal swabs and clothing of the girls were submitted at PFSA for DNA analysis. Seminal material was identified on the trousers of one minor girl. Semen was also found on a towel and a pair of woolen gloves used for wiping. Male DNA profile obtained from the sperms from these items matched the DNA of the suspect. Hence the case was solved on the basis of DNA profiling results.
After his arrest, a case was registered against the assailant under Section 376 (rape) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) at the Rawat police station of Rawalpindi. The crime was proved in the trial court and the Additional District and Sessions Judge Rawalpindi sentenced the convict to death and also imposed a fine of Rs0.6 million on him.
The case received widespread attention in the national and international media.
BBC: https://www.bbc.com/urdu/pakistan-47718577
Dawn: https://www.dawn.com/news/1472232
Pedophile and Serial Rapist Caught with the help of PFSA DNA Database
On the night of August 02, 2018, a complaint was filed with the police of Tehsil Piplan of district Minawali that a five year old minor girl had gone missing while playing with other children outside her house. The brother of the girl called upon their neighbors and spread out in the surroundings in search of the girl. The girl was discovered in a semiconscious state in the fields of maize crops. She was recovered and the incident was reported to the local police. The girl was immediately taken to the nearby public hospital for medical attention and medicolegal examination. The medicolegal examiner reported severe rectal injuries and trauma suggestive of sodomy. Anal swabs of the minor girl were submitted to Punjab Forensic Science Agency for DNA profiling. Spermatozoa were identified on anal swabs of the minor girl. The DNA profile foreign to victim, obtained from the sperm fraction of the swabs was from a single source of unknown male origin.
This incident became a blind case as there were no eye witnesses to the kidnapping or rape of the minor girl. A wave of terror and anger spread through the area, public protests erupted and the government came under immense pressure to apprehend the perpetrator of this heinous crime. Subsequently the local police took 39 individuals in custody on the basis of interrogation and investigations and their standard reference samples were collected at PFSA. DNA profile of Suspect 38, a teenager was found to be consistent with the foreign DNA profile on the anal swabs of the victim. Hence the case was solved with the help of DNA profiling.
Previously on May 25, 2018, a four year old boy went missing while playing outside his house in Tehsil Piplan of District Mianlwali. A search party discovered the boy in an agricultural land later that afternoon. Eyewitnesses reported having seen a thirteen year old lad physically engaged with the minor boy who managed to flee from the scene on the arrival of the search party. This teenager was apprehended by the police later on and became the prime suspect of the alleged sexual assault however he refused to confess the offence.
The physical examination of the victim boy revealed symptoms indicative of forceful anal penetration and the medicolegal examiner submitted anal swabs and shorts of the boy to PFSA for DNA analysis. Spermatozoa were identified on the anal swabs as well as on a stain on the crotch area of the shorts. The foreign DNA profile obtained from the sperm fraction of both the samples eliminated the prime suspect and hence the case stood unsolved unless the aforementioned first case was submitted in August 2018. DNA profile of suspect 38 of the minor girl rape case was found to be the source of foreign DNA in the second case as well. This finding was an accomplishment of the PFSA DNA Database system. Hence a pedophile serial rapist was arrested who would potentially have otherwise molested dozens of other children, had he been left loose on the streets. The prosecution case was substantiated on the grounds of DNA test results.
Child Rapist caught with the help of PFSA DNA database
In 2017, rape case of a 9 years old minor girl was reported in a small district of Punjab. The medico-legal examiner had indicated several physical injuries on the privates of the minor, which were suggestive of brutal sexual violence. The assailant was unknown to the minor girl or the witnesses of the incident, however a suspect was apprehended by the police who had accepted the offence and was later on brought to PFSA for DNA analysis. At PFSA meticulous analysis was conducted on the evidence collected from the body and clothes of the victim of this unfortunate incident. Seminal material was identified on the tested evidence items however the suspect was excluded as the source of foreign male DNA that was obtained from the evidence. Hence the exoneration of an innocent man could be implied on the basis of DNA analysis. The unknown DNA profile was uploaded to the PFSA DNA Database and was maintained on file.
In April 2018, a suspect was caught in Karachi, who on interrogation, confessed to committing rape in Punjab. The Sindh police requested PFSA to generate DNA profile of this suspect in order to search in the database and the same was acceded to by the DG, PFSA. DNA profile was developed from the samples submitted by the Sindh police. When a search was executed in the PFSA DNA Database, the DNA profile of Karachi suspect matched the foreign DNA obtained from the swabs of minor girl, hence this heinous crime was solved.
DNA database is used for storing DNA profiles of individuals that enables searching and comparing of DNA samples collected from a crime scene against the stored profiles. The most important function of the forensic database is to produce matches between the suspected individuals and crime scene samples. This practice provides evidence to support criminal prosecution and also leads to identify potential suspects in the criminal investigation. The DNA & Serology department, at PFSA is a state of the art forensic facility, assisting law enforcement/investigation agencies and courts of law in the dispensation of justice to the people. The DNA Database at PFSA is a unique facility in the country. It took years of effort to develop the rich DNA database at PFSA, however these efforts are now bearing fruit!
Zainab Murder Case