Individuality and
Different patterns
All of us know that everyone has fingerprints but no two persons have the same fingerprints , even the
twins have different fingerprints. Fingerprints are used for personal identification but what's happen
when someone make fake fingerprints .
Forgery of fingerprints ( fake fingerprints ) leads to injustice and punishment for an innocent person.
First case of fake fingerprints in India reported in 1916. A Bengali person from Calcutta burrowed
some money and given his fingerprints on the stamp paper. After repayment of amount the original
paper were torned out but after some time a case was filled on borrower by the moneylender for not
paying the amount and he submitted his fake fingerprints.
Forgery of fingerprints ( fake fingerprints ) means the using(original) and making of the copy of
someone fingerprints without his knowledge and consent.
Fake Fingerprints produced by two methods -
1) Lifting - In this process when the inked fingerprint of a person not dry completely, a wet paper
placed and pressed on the fingerprint (usually thumb) and so the print uplifted. The print uplifted was
the mirror image of original so they were again transferred on the required document .
The prints were also lifted with the help of lifting adhesive tapes. In this process the print was lifted
with the help of lifting tape and after lifting it was placed on the object or at crime scene.
2) Mechanical process - This technique involves block printing . A inked block was prepared look
alike the original fingerprint and by some mechanical device pressed on the document.
The question now arises that it is completely possible to play a trick with the forensic expert .
The answer is "NO".
In the first forgery of fake fingerprints (lifting from inked print ) the print after transferring will be too
faint and the ridge details lost. Ridge characteristics are also vanish.
Forgery of planting a print by adhesive tape also not worked as the transfer print has the material of the
previous surface from where it is lifted.
Fake fingerprints from a block also detected as the mechanical device leave its edges or sometimes
faint lines around the print. If a person genuinely make a finger mark on some papers than there is also
some natural variation but the forged prints exactly look alike in all measurements. Small air bubbles
also appeared in the duplicate print. The duplication of the elasticity of friction ridge skin is very
difficult to achieve. It may not be possible to get all the ridge detail , edges , pores etc in a duplicate
print.
Forgery of fingerprints also done by a genuine fingerprints -
1) A genuine fingerprint on the documents - This situation arises when in good faith we given our
impression on a blank sheet of paper and they were misused.
2) plantation of genuine fingerprint on documents - This situation arises when the stamp or stamps
have our genuine finger mark on them and they were planted from original documents to forged documents.
The whole matter of fake fingerprints solely depends upon the perfection , experience , scientific skill
and knowledge of a forensic expert . He has the sense of observation and not hastily draw the conclusion.
