Foreign body inserted in the rectum as torture and related medico legal issues

Rectal foreign body is no longer a medical oddity. The majority of objects are inserted by self introduction in children, psychiatric patients, in victim of assault and as a result of sexual gratification. It causes lower abdominal pain and rectal bleeding. The presence of a foreign body in the rectum has always been a challenge due to associated medico legal issues with it. Many times we encounter drug smugglers referred by custom department from air ports. Few cases are seen where the reason has been given it to be as a torture by other persons and victim approach for medico legal help. Though the inserted foreign body can be removed by surgeons but so far as legal matter are concerned this problem carries complex issues like, whether it is a self insertion or it has been inserted by other person with consent or without consent. In case it is without consent then it is considered as a case of assault Itorture. In such case further issue arises as how to report the nature of injury and manner of injury as if foreign body removal needs laparotomy, then penal code will be different and if the removal is transanal without any complication and the stay in hospital less than 20 days then the penal code will be different which needs further discussion. We report a case study of a foreign body in the rectum inserted with a purpose to torture and its related medico legal issues related to the physicians dealing with medico legal cases andfor public awareness.