Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology

 White collar crimes or the crimes committed by high profile individuals are more prevalent now a days involves almost all professions and business. Crimes like fraud, overcharging, black marketing, bribery, tax evasions etc are included under white collar crimes. These crimes more dangerous than blue collar crimes as they are deeply infilterated into the system and cause more long lasting harms.

Keywords: White Collar Crimes; Blue Collar Crimes.

 Corrosive poisons, alkaline and acidic, cause tissue destruction by dehydration and necrosis. Early complications are curable less consumption and early interventions. Patients die from direct or surgical complications due to severely damaged pharynx, oesophagus, stomach and larynx.

Postoperative disruption of abdominal musculo­aponeurotic layers is called burst abdomen (acute wound failure / wound dehiscence) which is among most alarming postoperative complications, mostly seen after emergency and exploratory laparotomy.

A 27 years male was admitted with corrosive acid ingestion presenting as fever, hematemesis, melena and dysphagia. Exploratory laparotomy was done for gastric perforation repair with feeding jejunostomy with throughout broad spectrum antibiotic coverage. On second post­operative week, burst abdomen (acute wound failure) was evident and he was operated again. But with further deterioration ultimately he died after one month.

Early endoscopic intervention with surgical management under proper precautions with maintenance of proper nutrition are utmost necessary for treatment of patients of corrosive poisoning to prevent immediate or early demise as well as irreversible late complications like malnutrition, dysphagia and oesophageal stricture.

Keywords: Corrosive; Burst Abdomen; Dehiscence; Laparotomy; Postoperative Complications.

 The present paper highlights the importance of radiology in forensic practice, which is applicable to the living as well as the dead. The interaction between the two disciplines is considerable, as forensic problems ranging from personal identification to age estimation have been solved radiologically. Through the years, radiology has proved to be an invaluable tool in the investigation of violent and unnatural deaths. A recent development in this field is the concept of a ‘virtual’ or ‘digital’ autopsy that seeks to replace the scalpel with a scanner to determine the cause of death. Modern imaging techniques may be more acceptable to society than conventional postmortem examination­viewed by laymen as mutilating and disfiguring. 

Keywords: Forensic; Radiology; Virtual Autopsy.

 Context: The unnatural deaths of newly married women, at present, are a burning problem of the society, increasing day by day. This has thrown a major challenge to the police personnel, medico­legal experts as well as to judicial officers not only to wipe out this social menace but also to penalize the culprits in deterrent manner. This study focuses to learn socio­epidemiological profile of unnatural death of newly married women in Rajkot region. Aims: To evaluate unnatural deaths of newly married women in Rajkot region. Method and Materials: The present study was conducted on 153 cases of newly married female victims of unnatural death cases during year 2013 at Department of Forensic Medicine, P.D.U. Govt. Medical College & Hospital, Rajkot. All required information was collected by inquiring investigation officers and relatives of deceased and from postmortem findings. Results: Total 153 cases of unnatural death of newly married women with minimum age of 18 years and maximum age of 34 years. Maximum cases of unnatural death were found in age group of 23 to 26 years (39.87%). Maximum cases were found within first year of married life. Conclusion: Commonest reason for unnatural death of newly married women is dowry related harassment. Lower education in bride, lower income of husband and maladjustment of bride in new family are reasons for higher incidence of unnatural newly married female deaths. If responsible authorities focus on these factors while designing policy to deal with crime against women, incidences of unnatural death of newly married women will decrease. 

Keywords: Unnatural Female Death; Newly Married Women; Burns; Crimes against Women.

 Aims and Objectives: The present study was carried out as a pilot study to know the involvements of vehicle and epidemiological aspects of road traffic accidents in Raigarh district. Material and Method: All the cases of road traffic accident brought to the department of forensic medicine & toxicology, Kirodimal Govt. Hospital, Raigarh for medico legal post­mortem examination during the period from 18th March 2015 to 17th October 2015 were the subjects of the study. Information regarding place of incident, age, sex, mode of travel by victims, and types of injuries responsible to cause of death was gathered from detailed history taken from the relatives of deceased and from the Police inquest. Results: Total 273 post­mortem had been conducted, out of which 50 cases were road traffic accidents. The maximum victims were male (Male: female ratio 9:1) and were in age group of 21­50 years. Among the presence of injuries head injuries were present in maximum number of victims 27(54%) followed by the chest and abdominal injuries 06(12%) victims. The maximum number of victims those were travelling by two wheeler vehicle (44%) followed by the pedestrians (30%).

Keywords: Road Traffic Injuries; Two Wheeler Victims; Head Injury; Vehicular Accident and Pedestrians.

 Context: A retrospective study of 40 cases of firearm deaths was conducted in dept. of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology of P. D. U. (Govt.) Medical College, Rajkot during the period of 2000 to 2014. Aims: To determine the pattern of deaths caused by firearms in and around Rajkot region. Methods and Material: A retrospective study of 40 cases of deaths due to firearm injuries was conducted in Dept. of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology of P. D. U. (Govt.) Medical College, Rajkot during the period of 2000 to 2014. The particulars of the victims, history of the incident, postmortem findings, etc. were recorded from the postmortem reports and relevant documents and are analyzed. Statistical Analysis Used: Microsoft excel. Results: Incidence of firearms deaths was 0.13% during this period. Most of victims (42.5%) were of age group of 21­30 years. Most of victims(92.5%) were male.82.5% of victims were belonging to lower socio­economical class.67.5% cases were of rifled injuries and 32.5% were of shotgun injuries. Most common targeted part was chest (55%), followed by head and face (45%). 90% cases were homicidal and 10% cases were suicidal. Most of the victims (52.5%) had single firearm entry wound. Conclusions: The majorities of the victims were men and age group of 21­30 years. The most common targeted body part was the chest. Most of the deaths were due to rifled firearm injuries and homicidal. In all suicidal cases, the victim were male, females are not using firearm to kill self. Death due to firearm injuries is very less as compared to India and other countries. Incidence of death due to firearm injuries are progressively increasing from 2008, it may be because of modernization in the societies. 

Key-words: Firearm Injury; Suicide; Homicide.

 Background: Suicide is a significant issue among teenagers. Suicide is now assumed the third leading cause of death among 15 to 44 aged groups in many region of the world and second leading cause of death among 10 to 24 years of age people. Suicide is the leading cause of death for adolescents in the globe and the rates of suicide are increasing fast in teenagers as compared to other age groups. Study Design: It’s a cross sectional Prospective study. Material and Method: The medico legal Post­Mortem Examinations were conducted on the victims of suicides in the age group of thirteen to eighteen years in one year beginning from January to December. Data were collected from the Inquest, Panch­nama of the scene of offence, hospital records, suicide notes and information gathered by personal enquiry with the relatives. Observation and Discussion: Total 117 no cases were included in the study, and out this 34.2% were Males and 65.8%were of Females. In females 27 cases came from semi­urban areas, 18 cases belong to rural and 12 from urban areas, whereas in Males 14 cases belong to Rural, 10 cases from urban and only 5 cases from semi­urban areas. 63 cases among females and 34 cases among Males reported to have no history of previous attempt of suicide, whereas 5 cases among females and 2 cases among males have the history of previous unsuccessful attempt of suicide. People with low suicidal intention may end up in completed suicide because of using more lethal methods, inadequate treatment and delay in seeking treatment. This aspect of suicidal behaviour points to lack of clarity in the differentiation of definitions of suicide and attempted suicide. Due emphasis should be given on the intention, lethality and rescuability in killing oneself to differentiate between attempters and completers. Conclusion: The prevalence of suicide in India is high and is influenced by a variety of factors, such as, social, biological, psychological and environmental factors. There is a need of thorough research to determine the determinants of suicide among teenagers and adolescents, in order to develop wide­ranging intervention strategies to prevent suicide. 

Keywords: Suicide; Adolescents; Determinants; Public Health Issue. 

 Context: Time since death (TSD) is very important opinion in every post mortem examination. In every case, lawyers will try to exclude the evidences as they are not within range of time since death. Aims: To evaluate time since death from decrease in body weight, organs weight, BMI (Body Mass Index) and BSA(Body Surface Area) in percentage. Methods and Materials:This isprospective study comprised of 300 cases randomly selected from cadavers brought for autopsy atmortuary of Government Hospital, Rajkot from Jan­2012 to May­2013. Based on time since death, cases are classified as fresh cases having TSD within 6hours, 1­3 days, 3­5 and more than 5 days respectively. Change in body weight, organs weight, BMI and BSAwere studied in these TSD range. Conclusion:Changes in body weight, organ weight, BMI and BSA can be used as on table rapid tool to evaluate TSD. 

Keywords: TSD(Time Since Death); Organs Weight; Decomposition; BMI (Body Mass Index); BSA (Body Surface Area) 

 Background: Suffocation is a general term that encompasses several forms of asphyxia either from lack of gas in the breathable environment, or from obstruction of the external airways (smothering) or the internal airways (choking), or from a pressure on the chest or abdomen or a body position restricting respiratory movement (traumatic and positional asphyxia, respectively). Study Design: It’s a cross sectional prospective study. Place of Study: Mortuary of Osmania general hospital, Hyderabad. Duration of Study: 2­year study period 2013­2015. Material and Method: out of 9812 autopsies conducted at mortuary of Osmania General Hospital, during two year period 46 cases of suffocations were identified and autopsy was done. Observation and Discussion: The most common cause of suffocation is smothering comprising about 39% of the study sample. i.e. 18 cases followed by traumatic and/or positional asphyxia (26%). The least common cause in the study sample is autoerotic asphyxia. Most of the accidental suffocation deaths are associated with alcohol intoxication comprising almost 56.25% of cases, whereas majority of victims of homicidal suffocation deaths are non­alcoholic. Choking as a cause of sudden death has been recognized and well documented since the time of Hippocrates [11] and it is mostly accidental. The chances of choking are higher if the subject is under the influence of alcohol (cafe coronary) as supported by Hangen RK. Conclusion: The percentage of suffocation deaths in relation to the total Post Mortem Examination is miniscule i.e. 0.5%, but still it is one of the most important cause of death in terms of its complex mechanism. Suffocation deaths cannot be attributed to a single entity but to a spectrum of smothering, choking, traumatic/positional asphyxia, entrapment/ environmental types of deaths. Further studies on different populations are required, particularly to obtain evidence­based data to support our common body of knowledge and assess the discrepancies with the textbook literature. 

Keywords: Asphyxia; Suffocation; Alcohol Intoxication.