Profile & Pattern of Fabricated injuries by Mechanical Violence in G.G.S. Medical College, Faridkot (Punjab)

From times immemorial, man has been attempting to subjugate fellow human beings. Over the centuries and along with the growth of civilization, there has been increased use of violence, abuse and torture to twist and turn people around. Earlier, the main purpose of torture was to get information or confession, to punish or to terrorise and accordingly it has been defined by “ U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment” as “ Any act by which severe pain or suffering whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purpose as obtaining from him or third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed….” and this does not include physical pain or suffering in the form of fabricated injuries caused to self by application of mechanical violence to support a false charge of assault against the alleged accused or by the injured persons having been sustained minor injuries in assault cases who inflict fabricated injuries on self to enhance gravity of crime and penal punishment against the accused causing mechanical violence. Out of 200 cases of mechanical injuries resulting from assault and examined by the author in GGS Medical College Faridkot (Punjab), 26 cases were diagnosed as being fabricated or were strongly suspected to be fabricated injury cases sustained to support a false charge of assault. Profile and pattern of such fabricated injuries by mechanical violence and the corrective and preventive measures to check self-harm and penal punishment to those against whom such injuries are caused, are discussed in this paper.