LUCKNOW, Aug. 25 -- Expressing serious concerns over multiple lapses in the medical examination and preservation of forensic evidence concerning an 8-year-old Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) victim, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court described the situation as "deeply disheartening" as it remarked that the lapses represented a "serious failure" in handling vital evidence involving the minor. The court noted that the child's precious "golden hour" for collecting and preserving crucial forensic evidence was lost after he was repeatedly made to rush from one hospital to another. It further noted that the swab kit collected during the medical examination was not properly sealed, due to which DNA analysis could not be undertaken and the corresponding DNA report could not be generated. A copy of the order was directed to be sent to the DGP and the DG, prosecution. Justice Rajeev Bharti made the observations on August 18 in an order while granting bail to the accused facing an FIR registered at a police station in Lucknow.According to the prosecution's case, the 8-year-old boy was allegedly lured to a nearby garden on April 13, 2025, on the pretext of being given a bicycle. It was alleged that the accused subjected him to an unnatural sexual act, tore his clothes, assaulted him, and threatened to kill him. The child later narrated the incident to his family. After the accused was arrested on May 29, 2025, his blood sample was collected for DNA analysis. However, when the samples were sent to the forensic laboratory for DNA matching, the laboratory could not accept the victim's swab kit because the anal swab was not sealed, which rendered the parcel incomplete.htc...