Dept. of Forensic Medicine, J. N. Medical College, Belgaum, 590 010.
A retrospective study was undertaken over a period of five years to find out the incidence of suicidal deaths in Belgaum, autopsied at KLE's Prabhakar Kore Hospital and Research Centre, Belgaum, a referral hospital catering to the needs of public within a radius of 100 km.
Out of 600 autopsies conducted, 196 were suicidal deaths. The commonest age group of victims were 21 to 30 years. Females predominated males in the ratio 2: 1. The common mode of suicide was poisoning. Maximum number of victims died within 1 to 6 hours. Majority of the victims were married and were into agricultural occupation belonging to rural areas.
Suicidal deaths, poisoning, agricultural occupation, rural area
