DNA bill placed in House

A bill to pave the way for a law to allow DNA profiling of citizens has been tabled in Parliament.

DNA profiling is seen as an essential tool to identify criminals, dead bodies and for ascertaining parents.

State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroze placed Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Bill-2014 on Monday.

The bill was sent to the parliamentary standing committee on women and children affairs for evaluation.

The committee was asked to report within a month.

The cabinet approved the bill on Sept 2 last year.

The bill proposed to set up a forensic DNA laboratory and create a national database.

It also proposed forming an 18-member forensic DNA laboratory advisory council with the state minister for women and children leading it.

Once the bill is passed no person or organisation would be able to carry out tests or preserve DNA without the government’s approval.

Violating the Act will invite upto seven years in prison and Tk 300,000 in fine.

For DNA profiling without approval, one could be jailed for two to three years and fined Tk 100,000.

The bill allows collection of DNA sample for investigation, failing which concerned agency can move the court.

But a person’s DNA sample has to be collected in presence of at least two witnesses and by following procedure duly established under law.

The bill proposed to set up four index in the national DNA database --- crime scene index, convict’s index, index for unidentified people and another index set by the government.

The bill also proposed a provision for exchange of information with international organisations, if needed.