The Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Bill was passed in the Parliament today (Wednesday) with a provision of bringing the DNA test process under a legal framework.
State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Begum Meher Afroz piloted the bill in the House, which was passed in voice votes.
With the enactment of the law, the DNA test process will be brought under a legal framework as the country’s existing laws do not have the provision for DNA profiling.
Besides, it would help framing related laws regarding DNA collection and analysis, DNA profile management, establishing forensic DNA laboratories and a national DNA database for detecting criminals, identifying relations between two or more persons and also decomposed bodies.
The new law has a provision of maximum 10 years’ imprisonment and Taka five lakh fine for destroying, changing and tainting DNA samples and maximum five years’ jail and Taka three lakh fine for conducting illegal forensic DNA activities.
It also has a provision of maximum three years’ imprisonment and Taka 50,000 fine for collecting samples and publishing DNA related information illegally and maximum two years’ jail and Taka 30,000 fine for unauthorized access to the national DNA database.
Earlier, the state minister introduced the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Bill, 2014 in the House on June 23.
The objective of the bill says that the DNA profiling is important for detecting criminals accused of major offences like rape, murder, determining fatherhood, motherhood and sibling relationship and also identifying decomposed bodies.
The bill also proposed increasing the capacity and efficiency of the National Forensic DNA Profiling Laboratory at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and seven other laboratories situated in seven districts namely Rajshahi, Sylhet, Khulna, Chittagong, Faridpur, Barisal and Rangpur.
After the enactment of the law, a DNA laboratory would be set up and an 18- member forensic DNA laboratory advisory council with Women and Children Affairs Minister as its chairman would be constituted for a smooth implementation of the law.
Sangsad Bhab, Prothom Alo