Court orders to register case against lab officials

Thiruvananthapuram, May 22 (UNI) A local court today ordered to register criminal cases against two officials attached to the Chief Chemical Examiner's Laboratory here for their alleged involvement in tampering with the work book of the chemical examination of the vaginal swab and smear of Sister Abhaya.

Chief Judicial Magistrate S Soman directed filing of cases under section 465 and 468 (tampering of records) against Chief Chemical Examiner R Geetha and Examiner Chitra following findings by the National Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad, that forgery had taken place in the work book related to Sister Abhaya case.

Observing that the alterations were not light but serious, the CJM said the court was lucky to have the work book seized on time.

The order was issued on the basis of a petition by rights activist Jomon Puthenpurakkal alleging correction in the work book of the Chief Chemical Examiner's Laboratory.

The court had seized the tampered work book from the laboratory and sent to the National Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad, for examination.

The body of Sister Abhaya, an inmate of the Pious X hostel near Kottayam, was found in the well of the convent in 1992.

UNI