A two year study of suicidal deaths in Nagpur, Central India

A two year retrospective study of suicide cases has been carried out in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Indira Gandhi Government Medical College, Nagpur during the period of January 2001 to December 2002. Out of total 2888 medicolegal autopsies, suicide cases were accounting for 618 (21.40%).The suicide cases were predominantly observed in the males. Male to female ratio was 2.17:1. Maximum suicide cases were in the age group of 20–39 (n=365, 59.06%) with a clear male dominance in all age groups. The commonest method adopted for suicide was poisoning (n=214, 34.63%), followed by hanging (n=153, 24.76%) and burns (n=141, 22.81%). Suicide by throwing in front of train were the least (n= 15, 2.43%). The grounds for suicide noted as marital disharmony, economic problems, unemployment and diseases.