Dear G. K. Goswami ,

Use of Touch DNA as a forensic tool gained more attention in the previous years and are accepted as evidences in courts.

Many cold cases have been solved with the help of Touch DNA based evidence. one such example is Peggy Hettrick murder case, In 1987, 37 year old Peggy Hettrick was found dead on a field and her body was sexually mutilated.Timothy Masters was accused of the murder and found guilty in 1999 and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. In 2011, based on touch DNA evidences, Timothy Masters was exonerated after 9 years of imprisonment.

There are many articles on the application of Touch DNA as forensic evidence.

https://www.acsr.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Williamson.pdf

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-46051-9

Touch DNA is obtained from a very few cells( 7-8 human skin cells). Since it requires only a very few cells as source its prone to contamination. Secondary transfers of cells to crime scene increases the contamination chances. So it is crucial to handle all the crime scene objects and victims with trained persons.

In Indian Scenario, the proper training to first responders in "Touch DNA" is top priority.

Another drawback is the lack of DNA database. The Indian government is trying to implement a Human DNA Profiling bill which will enable the government to establish National DNA Data bank for forensic applications.

The bill is yet to be passed due to protest by opposition and Human rights activists.

below is a link to a project which aims to develop proper standards and tools for DNA based evidences in Sexual assault cases.

https://www.uio.no/english/research/strategic-research-areas/life-science/research/convergence-environments/evidently_rape/

Touch DNA is still in its developing stage and Touch DNA based evidences are employed to prove the innocence of accused than proving one guilty.

Hope this helps.

Thnx a lot for enlightenment.

Regards

rich contribution from Shan.

thanks.

Evidence Collection and Analysis for Touch Deoxyribonucleic Acid in Groping

and Sexual Assault Cases.

Hope this article helps you.