Kusa Kumar Shaha

Alleged dowry death : A study of homicidal burns

Homicidal burning of married women in India is a major concern for the Government, law-enforcing authorities, the judiciary, the police and medico-legal experts all over the country who are associated with dowry disputes. Dowry death, a heinous crime, is gradually engulfing and polluting the entire society. Sections 304(B) and 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) have been introduced and Sections 174 Criminal Procedure Code (Cr PC) and 176 Cr PC have been modified but, instead of deterring dowry deaths, the occurrences are increasing day by day and the number of cases coming for post-mortem examination is rising. Both parties, that is, the parents and in-laws of the deceased, are becoming adept at manufacturing circumstantial evidence to serve their own interests. Therefore, to establish the truth and for the smooth administration of justice, reliable unbiased medical evidence has to be corroborated. This study presents retrospective research carried out in the tertiary care teaching hospital of MKCG Medical College, Berhampur, Eastern India, for a five-year period between January 1998 to December 2002. From a total of 58 burned wives, 32 (55.1%) were homicidal burns. These cases were analyzed in view of epidemiological and medico-legal aspects. The majority of the affected women (90.63%) were in the 18 to 26 years of age group. Death occurred within the first few years of marriage and most of them had no children. All the victims belonged to the Hindu religion and 62.5% of incidents occurred during the daytime. In 71.87% cases the incident occurred in rural areas. Eighty-three per cent of cases occurred in a joint family within the house. In most cases, kerosene was the accelerant and flame was the causative agent. In more than 68.75% of cases the total body surface area involved was more than 80%. Most victims died at the time of the incident, or within the subsequent 24 hours, due to hypovolumeic shock. The education status in 70.21% cases was either illiterate or under matriculation. More stringent laws and female independence both mentally and economically will reduce the homicidal burns in young brides.

Electrocution-related mortality: a retrospective review of 118 deaths in Coimbatore, India, between January 2002 and December 2006

Electrical injuries currently remain a worldwide problem. These injuries are responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality, but are usually preventable with simple safety measures. A retrospective study was undertaken of deaths due to electrocution that occurred over a five-year period from January 2002 to December 2006. The bodies were autopsied at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 118 cases were identified and all were accidental: 107 males (91%) and 11 females (9%) (male:female ratio = 9.72). The majority of deaths occurred in the 21–30 year age group (n = 57, 48%). Most deaths (n = 98; 83%) were due to low-voltage circuits (<1000 V); a minority were due to high voltages (n = 20, 17%). Domestic accidents were responsible in 73 cases (61.86%). Deaths were caused most frequently by touching an electric wire (n = 62; 52.54%). Most deaths occurred in the summer (n = 50; 42%) with the lowest number of deaths occurring in winter. There was no electrical contact mark present in eight cases (6.7%). One hundred and four cases (88%) were dead on arrival at hospital. The most common cause of death was cardiac arrest, followed by septicaemia and renal failure. Congestion of the brain and oedematous lungs were frequent non-specific postmortem findings.

Paraphenylenediamine containing hair dye: an emerging household poisoning

Abstract Paraphenylenediamine poisoning is among one of the emerging causes of poisoning in Asian countries, because it is a constituent of hair dye formulations and is easily available in market at low cost. Hair dyes are rampantly used in Asian households compared with the western world. Locally, hair dye constituents may have allergic adverse effects, and acute systemic poisoning presents with characteristic angioedema, upper airway obstruction, rhabdomyolysis, methemoglobinemia, myoglobinuria, and acute renal failure. This study reports about the death of a 24-year-old Indian housewife who committed suicide by taking hair dye emulsion. She had an argument with her husband, and because of fit of rage, took a bowlful (80 mL) of hair dye emulsion kept prepared for the use by husband. She developed angioedema, cervical swelling, and rhabdomyolysis and died of acute renal failure within 24 hours. Toxicological analysis of viscera and blood revealed varying levels of paraphenylenediamine. Histopathological samples of kidney showed features of acute tubular necrosis and myoglobin casts in renal tubules. The aim of the study is to create awareness about the adverse effects of the hair dye, its poisoning outcome, and possible preventive measures.

Impulsive frotteurism: A case report

Frotteurism is a perverted sexual behaviour wherein the person tends to rub or bring about physical contact between his genitals and an unrelated female or male to derive sexual pleasure. Moreover, frotteurism is a common phenomenon among the general population which usually goes unnoticed or overlooked. Nevertheless, public frottage has legal implications in almost all countries over the world. But, when frotteurism manifests on the backdrop of psychiatric illness or as a developmental abnormality then it is worth discussing what the legal liability would be. The present case report is based on hypersexual frotteuristic behaviour manifested on the background of a concealed psychiatric illness, featuring depression and obsessive compulsive disease. The hypersexual behaviour manifested in the form of masturbation with features of frotteurism and subsequent development of depression. Nevertheless, compulsive manifestation of frotteuristic behaviour and subsequent development of morbid depression is rare. This paper describes a 12-year-old boy having unrestrained impulsive frotteurism with his peers, school mates and with his younger brother. He was conscious of the fact and feeling guilty of what he was doing but unable to restrain himself. It was followed by the development of symptoms of depression which was treated with Sertraline. Concurrent psychiatric counseling and rehabilitation measures were taken too. There was complete remission of the symptoms 6 months after the onset of treatment and without relapse thereafter. The paper discusses the differential diagnosis and management of hypersexual behaviour.

High-Voltage Suicidal Electrocution With Multiple Exit Wounds

Poisoning, hanging, and burning are the usual methods adopted by people to commit suicide. Suicide by electrocution and that too high voltage is one of the rarest methods adopted for the purpose. We report the case of a young man who committed suicide by climbing up a 25-ft-high electric pole. The deceased was a regular alcoholic and was under severe depression for a long time because of his personal problems. He survived for more than 2 days after the incident. His serum urea and creatinine levels were elevated, so were the creatine kinase total and creatine kinase-MB level. The method adopted and the findings make this case a rare scientific report. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case in an English scientific literature of a high-voltage suicidal electrocution with multiple exit wounds. The circumstances surrounding the manner of electrocution and the features of electric injuries are presented and discussed.

Fatal Folic Acid Toxicity in Humans

Folic acid is B‐9 vitamin. Folic acid is prescribed commonly for pregnant women to prevent neural tube defects in the fetus, patients under chemotherapy, pernicious anemia and to reduce the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. Acute or chronic ingestion of a large dose of folic acid generally manifests as neurological complications, which are reversible. In this present case, a 23‐year‐old pregnant woman committed suicide by consuming folic acid tablets and succumbed to death within 36 h. Postmortem toxicological analysis detected folic acid in viscera. Death following acute consumption of folic acid is rare and has been not reported in the literature, to the best of our knowledge.

Occupational death due to bilateral carotid artery occlusion – A medico-legal case report

Occupational deaths are work-related deaths and usually occur in the work place of an individual. A case of occupational death in a female factory worker has been described, where the saree she was wearing accidentally got entangled in the moving belt and caused ligature strangulation. She was unconscious throughout indicating bilateral occlusion of the carotids and died a day after the incident. The authors have described the correlation between the distribution of the injuries on the body and the manner a saree is worn. Investigation of the workplace revealed that the place where she was standing was located between two machines, and the space was inadequate for normal movement. Some suggestions have been offered which may decrease the incidences of occupational ligature strangulation due to entanglement of dress materials in the moving machineries.

Household Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals - A Lurking Danger in Home

According to National Crime Records Bureau of India (NCRBI) report-2016, rat-killers and pesticides topped the list for ‘household poisoning’ so far last year, ousting mosquito coils and sprays and toilet cleaners in 2015. The top five causing household poisoning this year also included toilet cleaner, thinner and lysol, glue and silica gel [1]. In 2014 alone, the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) reported that 2.2 million people came into contact with such substances, with calls made to a poison centre every 11 seconds [2]. The Sunday Times learns (2015 study) with 281 females and 177 males making up patient numbers in 2015. Of the 686 telephone enquiries made from the centre with regard to household poisoning, the majority (382) were for adults in the 20-60 year age-group, with children in the 3-14 year age-group (229) also being vulnerable [3-6]. My hospital is a national level hospital catering almost all of south India region, though cases are also being received from other corners of the country. In the year 2015, we had received a total of 420 number of household poisoning cases; while, this number had risen to 455 in 2016.

Atypical Exit Wound in High-Voltage Electrocution

Abstract Electrocution fatality cases are difficult to investigate. High-voltage electrocution burns resemble burns caused by other sources, especially if the person survives for few days. In that case, circumstantial evidence if correlated with the autopsy findings helps in determining the cause and manner of death. In addition, the crime scene findings also help to explain the pattern of injuries observed at autopsy. A farmer came in contact with a high-voltage transmission wire and sustained superficial to deep burns over his body. A charred and deeply scorched area was seen over the face, which was suggestive of the electric entry wound. The exit wound was present over both feet and lower leg and was atypical in the form of a burnt area of peeled blistered skin, charring, and deep scorching. The injuries were correlated with crime scene findings, and the circumstances that lead to his electrocution are discussed here.

Profile of fatal head injuries in road traffic accidents: study conducted in Puducherry, India

In India motor vehicle population is growing at a faster rate than the economic and population growth. This study was conducted from November 2011 to april 2013 at JIPMER, Puducherry. In this study there were 268 deaths due to road traffic accidents with head injury in a period of 18 months (November 2011 to April 2013). Males outnumbered females (81.71% vs 18.28%) with a ratio of 4.5 to 1. Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) are more commonly seen in the age group of 31-45 years followed by 16-30 years. The major culprits are the two wheelers which amount to 198 vehicles (53.08%). In our study the number of pedestrian involved in accidents is 89 (33.20%) and the motor cyclists are 97 (36.19%). Frontal (51 cases; 28.33%) and occipital (50 cases; 27.77%) parts of the skull are more commonly fractured. In basal skull fractures posterior cranial fossa (PCF, 36 cases; 26.66%) and middle cranial fossa (MCF, 35 cases; 25.92%) are more commonly fractured. The most common type of haemorrhage is the combination of subdural and subarachnoid haemorrhage 134 cases (54.69%). Language: en