Study of Nature of Ligature Material, Knot type and Pattern of Ligature Mark in Death Cases Caused by Hanging and Compression of Neck in Ajmer District

In humans, one of the major modes of death is asphyxia and type of asphyxia most commonly encountered in medico-legal practice is mechanical asphyxia. Hanging is one of the most common method of suicide in India, other types of hanging are, homicidal hanging judicial hanging, autoerotic hanging. The study was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology at JLN Medical college, Ajmer for a period of one year i.e. from January 2009 to December 2010. During this period a total number of 100 cases were observed for violent asphyxial death caused by hanging. In the present investigation hanging cases reported in Ajmer region were studied for ligature material, hanging type and ligature marks. In the study cotton rope is the most common material used (out of 100 cases 52 cases), of which fixed knot pattern was most common. Domestic sites in home like ceiling fans and beam/bar was the common suspension site observed for hanging. Moreover Atypical and complete hanging type were most common being 89 cases and 87 cases respectively