1Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, Agroha, Hisar
2Associate Professor & Head, Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, Agroha, Hisar
3Demonstrator, Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, Agroha, Hisar
*Corresponding author: Dr Harish kumar S Agarwal Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, Agroha, Hisar, E-mail: drhkagarwal20@gmail.com
Online published on 8 January, 2016.
In any civilized nation, death in custody would pose several questions regarding safety of the person under confinement, and the functioning of law enforcement agencies comes under scanner. To analyze this situation from all aspects, present prospective study was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Govt. Medical College, Amritsar. A total of 70 (57 male and 13 female) cases of custodial deaths over a study period of 2 years were examined in detail. In 56 cases (80%), the cause of death was natural, while in 14 (20%) cases it was unnatural. In natural deaths, coronary artery disease (22.8%) and pulmonary tuberculosis (17.1%) were the two main causes of death. Of unnatural deaths, 10% were due to suicide, 4.3% were due to homicide and 5.8% were accidental in manner. This study emphasizes the role of doctor to evaluate cause of death and manner of death in custody and to suggest various means for the welfare of prisoners.
custodial deaths, cause of death, manner of death, role of doctor
