The forensic evaluation of burnt human remains - A case report

Burning and disposing the body in remote places has been used since ages in the history of mankind to evade the identity and to destroy the evidences of criminal act against individuals, but burning the body in the thickly populated area is rare. Such burnt corpses are challenging for forensic pathologists in view of identification, interpretation of injuries contributing to or causing death, whether the victim was exposed to the fire before or after death and in ascertaining the manner of death. Here we report one such case, where the partially burnt female body was found at the corner of an empty site, next to a bank on the main road, in the Metropolitan city of South India, which had gone unnoticed to public for more than a week. The various medico-legal issues associated with such a case are also being discussed in the light of available literature.