BENGALURU: Skeletons can give significant leads on age, gender, stature and cause of death in medico-legal cases to forensic anthropologists, provided they are intact and well-preserved. TNIE spoke to some leading forensic medicine experts on the science of forensic anthropology, in the wake of the alleged Dharmasthala mass burial case.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case found some skeletal remains in the sixth burial site identified by the witness-complainant. The same was sent for forensic examination. “The process will take a few days to a few weeks to examine the bones. Further, it will be sent to a forensic science laboratory for DNA profiling. It may take some time, depending on several factors, including the age and condition of the skeleton,” said Dr Verghese PS, leading forensic expert and chief medical officer, St John’s Medical College Hospital.
“Skeletons, if found intact, can provide valuable scientific evidence on the gender, approximate age, stature, and in many instances, cause of death. Linking a skeleton to a missing person needs a DNA sample from a biological relative to match, besides the skull re-imposition on the photograph of the missing person,” said Verghese.
He added that forensic medicine experts can gauge the gender, age and probable cause of death from a human skull, pelvic and long bones. “If the skeletal remains are of people below 22 years of age, assessment can be accurate. It is approximate in older individuals. Bones can tell if there were hard injuries on the body, as there are signs of fracture. Skull fracture is an important piece of forensic evidence in a medico-legal case. Death due to poisoning can also be ascertained by the poison deposits found in bones,” said the forensic expert.
“The DNA extracted from the molars and long bone, preferably the thigh bone (femur) is crucial to ascertain the identity of the person. The sample is then matched with the DNA sample of a blood relative of the deceased,” said Verghese. He added that bones will, however, not yield any information if death was due to smothering. “Fresh skeletons can reveal far more than older ones. Getting soft tissues from old skeletons is difficult if they are completely skeletonised.
Skeletonisation takes anywhere between one and three months’ time, depending on the nature of the soil where the body is buried. Toxins in the soil can contaminate human remains and make forensic anthropology difficult,” said another forensic expert, who did not wish to be named.
Forensic anthropology is a critical science to ascertain the identity of missing individuals, cause of death, especially when remains are skeletonized, decomposed, or otherwise unidentified. Forensic anthropologists assess skeletal remains to determine the deceased’s age, sex, ancestry, and stature and also do trauma analysis to help determine the cause and manner of death in medico-legal cases. In India, forensic medicine experts also double as forensic anthropologists.””In the event of a mass disaster involving multi-ethnicity, forensic anthropologists can also help identify race and ethnicity of the victims,” said another forensic expert.
