The egg man & his dog – Value of artefacts in forensics

No justification of homicide exists in any civilized society, but some murders are downright meaningless and done just for the sake of murder. It is said that no one goes along with the dead, a man dies alone. This saying is true for the physical sense, more than the metaphysical & spiritual aspects, though loved ones or companions die together. More importantly, the crime scene holds vital but oft hidden clues pointing towards the trio of murder, victim and murderer.

However, strange it may seem all the above aspects of homicide are visualized & realized in the following case report. A poor egg vendor, selling eggs before a liquor outlet, has a pet dog by his side. A history-sheeter frequents his redi, and forms a passing friendship with him. In the need of money, the unwitting egg man borrows money from the criminal. Not being able to pay him back, he tries to unsuccessfully avoid him, with fatal consequences. He is done with and disposed off by bundling him into a sack and thrown into a dirty nullah. The near totally skeletonised body is discovered after a few months by the police, but lo and behold! Out comes not only the victim, but his canine soul mate-the true friend of man and an egg! The truth of death and passage of time itself could not separate the victim from his friend and profession. The following case report with self depicting photographs not only briefly describes a fascinating real life drama of intrigue, murder and faithfulness continuing after death but also that artefacts are not always negative in value, on the contrary they provide vital clues which help in solving vexed cases.