MUMBAI: Experts say the seamless application of forensics in the Sheena Bora murder case should persuade investigators to utilize the science more often and beyond such high-profile cases. A combined team of forensic science and medicine experts along with the police exhumed 86 bones from Raigad , which DNA profiling has conclusively proved to be of Sheena Bora.Two teams of experts— forensic analysts from the Kalina lab and a forensic medicine expert from the BYL Nair Hospital— stood guard as the remains were dug out from a 50-metre deep trench in Raigad. A long femur bone was the first one to emerge, which the forensic analysts took for DNA extraction. Additionally, they collected soil for more investigation. The remaining body parts were brought to Nair Hospital for age and gender determination, which were later found to be of a woman between the age-group of 22 to 25 years.A forensic expert however told TOI that it is only in exceptional cases that such a meticulous process of segregation and sampling is followed. Often, the Kalina lab or the forensic and anatomy departments of medical colleges receive random bundles of bones, untidily wrapped in cloth or packets and with incomplete or no history about the case.According to experts, the confusion among most policemen originates from an inadequate understanding of which branch of forensics does what. Forensic science, for instance, combines scientific and technological know-how for legal purposes in the investigation of a crime. Forensic medicine, which can only be pursued by MBBS graduates, applies medicine to determine cause of an injury or death.“Very few in the police force may be aware of this distinction,” said Dr Shailesh Mohite, head of forensic medicine at Nair Hospital. A case in point is the fact that the Raigad police in 2012 dumped the bones at JJ Hospital and never thought it was necessary to send it to the Kalina lab as well.An expert from Kalina agreed the police personnel need to be informed better about sampling, ways to preserve material and bring it to the laboratory. It is not uncommon for them to get hair without the root or semen and blood samples soaked in formalin. “Formalin is known to disintegrate the DNA and compromise the findings,” the expert said. Many samples that arrive in the Mumbai lab from Nashik, Raigad, Aurangabad and Pune are not even accompanied by basic case history.Former head of Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory, Dr Rukmini Krishnamurthy, said policemen also need to be trained to recreate the entire crime scientifically. “One can use photographs, phone records, psychological profiling and lie detectors to corroborate each step of the crime through forensic evidence,” she said.The forensic expert however said that things are steadily changing as they have started receiving more samples over the years. From less than 100 samples a month till few years ago, the lab now gets upwards of 175 samples every month.