Medico-legal study of strangulation cases in Varanasi district

Abstract

Introduction

The term asphyxia may be defined as a state in which the body lacks of oxygen, because of some mechanical interference with the process of breathing. Strangulation is a form of violent asphyxial death caused by constricting the neck by means of ligature or by any other means without suspending the body.

Materials and methods

The study was conducted in Department of Forensic medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Utter Pradesh. It is a prospective study. The study was conducted during October 2016 to March 2018.

Results

Total 150 out of 2976 medico-legal deaths were identified to be due to violent asphyxia with incidence rate of 5%. Most common age group involved was 21-30 years. Strangulation was the most common method of asphyxial homicidal death constituting 4.67%.cases & smothering 0.67% cases. Fracture of hyoid bone is noted in 2 cases.

Conclusion

Ligature strangulation is more frequently used method of homicidal asphyxial death. If hyoid bone fracture is detected, it has to be confirmed whether it is ante-mortem fracture or an artefact of post-mortem fracture occurred during autopsy, as it has medico legal importance while giving the opinion regarding the cause of death.