CFSL Hyderabad Explosives Wing
Definition
The explosives examination section of India's Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Hyderabad, the designated court-certifying facility for explosives analysis in major Indian terrorism prosecutions. Operates GC-ECD, LC-MS/MS, and IC methods under NABL certification criteria for forensic chemistry.
- Location
- Hyderabad, India
- Parent body
- Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL)
- Accreditation
- NABL certification for forensic chemistry
- Key methods
- GC-ECD, LC-MS/MS, ion chromatography (IC)
Common questions
Why does this specific lab matter in terrorism cases?+
It is the designated court-certifying facility for explosives residue analysis in major Indian terrorism prosecutions, meaning its reports carry particular evidentiary weight and its chain of custody and methodology are frequently scrutinised at trial.
What does each named technique contribute?+
GC-ECD is sensitive to nitro-aromatic and nitrate ester explosive residues, LC-MS/MS confirms and identifies a wider range of organic explosive compounds, and IC detects the inorganic anions left by ANFO and similar low-explosive residues.
Related terms
- Control Swab (Background)
- A swab collected from an uncontaminated surface outside the outer cordon of a blast scene, processed identically to scene swabs, to establish...
- GC-ECD
- Gas chromatography with electron capture detection. Achieves 1-10 picogram detection limits for nitroaromatic (TNT, DNT) and nitramine (RDX, HMX, PETN) explosives. Cannot...
- Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS)
- A field-deployable analytical technique that separates ions by their mobility in an electric field at atmospheric pressure. Used for trace explosive detection...
- Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM)
- An LC-MS/MS acquisition mode in which the first quadrupole (Q1) selects a precursor ion at a specific m/z, the second (Q2) fragments...
- NIST SRM 8806
- A National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Reference Material for explosive residue analysis, providing certified reference solutions of TNT, RDX, PETN,...
- Seat of Explosion
- The physical location at the centre of an explosion, identified by maximum crater depth, convergence of fragment-throw vectors, and highest damage density....
- SEM-EDX
- Scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The electron beam excites characteristic X-rays from each element present in the target grain, giving...
- Suppressed Conductivity IC
- An ion chromatography detection method in which a membrane suppressor chemically neutralises the background eluent conductivity, leaving only the analyte ions as...
- Thermal Desorption
- The process of heating a swab or trap to release adsorbed analyte vapour for introduction into an IMS or GC instrument. Temperature...