Castration in a case of railway accident: An unusual case of malice

Castration or Bobbitisation, as either a punishment or treatment for sex offenders, has been used throughout history and persists to the present day. After the brutal incident of gang rape in capital city of India that shocked the country, there was even demand of emasculation or castration as a punishment of rape. However, castration, that too in a case of railway accident is an unusual case of malice. Here, we are presenting an interesting and unusual case of animosity that was evaluated and later on confirmed, based on our observations. During post-mortem examination on a dead body of a male recovered from the railway track, multiple ante-mortem injuries involving vital areas like head and thorax were noted, but to our surprise, the victim's penis and scrotal sac were also missing, without corresponding tears on the garments. On careful evaluation, it was concluded that the injuries noticed all over the body were consistent with railway accident except that of amputation of penis along with scrotum. These amputation injuries were also ante-mortem and were caused by sharp edged weapon.