Decapitation injuries on railway track

Decapitation or complete severance of head from the body is imminently a fatal condition and is commonly encountered in railway accidents predominantly associated with decapitation by wheels of trains or with postmortem dismemberment following homicide. Deaths with decapitation lead to a complex forensic investigation in which the forensic pathologist plays a major role as a point of reference in the execution of a full and correct inquest. A differentiation between decapitation due to suicide, accident, homicide or mutilation of a body after death by another cause on autopsy.

Three case reports with decapitation of head of which two incidents occurred involving the fall on railway track and one of the victims committed suicide by jumping from Delhi Metro train.

On careful examination of external injuries wound margins were irregular, tissues were crushed and stained with grease and there was extravasation of blood in surrounding tissues. These findings ruled out possibility of homicide by decapitation as well as postmortem decapitation.

Railway related deaths could be prevented by surveillance, education and public awareness. The paper stresses on the importance of suicide prevention strategy to be followed to prevent suicide on railway tracks by restricting access to railway tracks and following other preventive measures such as the installation of platform screen doors.