Forensic age assessments are crucial in the evaluation of criminal responsibility and preventing false age claims. Of all the methods available, the Greulich and Pyle (GP) atlas is most commonly used for age estimation purposes. Therefore, the current study sought to analyze the reliability and applicability of the GP standard and, additionally, to determine any possible association between the socioeconomic status (SES), food habits, and estimated skeletal maturity in the North Indian population. The study included 627 (334 males and 293 females) healthy children up to 19 years of age with varying SES and food habits. The skeletal age (SA) was estimated by three different evaluators using the GP atlas. The chronological mean age (CA) and SA were compared in different age cohorts. A paired t -test and a Pearson chi-square test were applied to show the difference between CA and estimated SA and the association of skeletal maturity with SES and food habits. The estimated skeletal age in males was retarded by 0.142 years or 1.72 months ( p ≤ 0.05), whereas in females, it was retarded by 0.259 years or 3.12 months ( p ≤ 0.05). In males, the GP method has significantly underestimated SA in age cohorts 3–4, 4–5, 6–7, 7–8, 8–9, and 12–13, whereas it overestimated in 10–11 and 18–19 years. However, in females, the SA was significantly underestimated in age groups 10–11, 12–13, and 14–15, respectively. Estimated skeletal maturity had no significant association with SES and food habits. The current study concludes that the GP atlas may not be applicable to North India’s population. The observed difference in assessed skeletal maturity may be due to geographical region, genetics, hormonal effects, etc., which require further investigation. Hence, population-specific standards are necessary to determine the bone age of Indian children accurately.

Bio-medical waste is the waste generated from hospitals, including infectious waste, and has a high potential for causing injury and infections to humans as well as to the environment. Effective bio-medical waste management is the requisite parameter for a healthy and unpolluted environment. It is a social and legal responsibility of the medical community and common people to participate in the proper hygienic waste disposal actively and lead the environment free from various infectious diseases. BMW is precarious in the constitution and is different from general municipal waste; hence, it requires a unique approach and handling to avoid environmental and human health risks. The government of India made a statutory requirement for appropriate handling and disposal of bio-medical waste with the publication of gazette notification in July 1998 and further making required changes in it. This article explains various components, techniques for remediation, and consequences of improper disposal of BMW and provisions of BMW management in India. It also gives a brief overview of bio-medical waste management of hospitals in Uttar Pradesh.

In forensic medicine, firearm-related fatalities are regular. The range and velocity of the bullet, the characteristics of the wounds, and the probability of recovery are vital components of forensic analyses. While examining gunshot wounds to the skull, focus on the critical difference between bullet entry and exit points and the distance between the muzzle and the bullet entrance is vital. Determining bullet injury in cases of extreme decay has been a difficult challenge. The police send a corpse in the later stages of decomposition for re-postmortem examination, with a history of severe blunt force injuries to the head in our case report. Following the reconstruction of the skull, it is determined that some regions are bone deficient. A bullet entry wound is present on the left side's upper border of the defect, formed like an arc (representing the upper 1/3rd of a circle), and a corresponding exit wound was discovered on the right side's lower border of the defect, shaped like an arc (representing the lower 1/3rd of a circle). The bullet passed left to right backward and downward. It is noteworthy that in cases of advanced decomposition, where identifying the characteristics of a bullet wound is nearly impossible, fully skeletonizing the body and reconstructing it will provide critical hints to establishing the cause of death.

Congenital anomalies are one of the primary causes of infant mortality and disability in the world. Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) are the most typical type of birth defect resulting from the failure of Neural tube closure. In this retrospective hospital-based study, the data of the children affected byneural tube defects (NTDs) were analyzed. Prevalence of Hydrocephalous, Myelomeningocele (MMC), Encephalocele, Lipo MMC, Meningocele, Spina Bifida Occulta among children with more or less than one year of age and their occurrence in males and females was studied. The frequency of occurrence of cases of neural tube defects was significantly less among all the congenital disabilities, i.e., 5% of total cases studied. The prevalence of myelomeningocele, hydrocephalous, and Encephalocele was higher than other types of NTDs. This study concludes that the prevalence of hydrocephalous and myelomeningocele in this area raises a concern to have more research of their etiology.

It is believed abstraction that the Planets and stars influence human health and psychology is a popular notionin astrological science in India. However, debates are still ongoing about the exact effects and their extentand quality. This study aims to deduce the correlation between unnatural deaths in different age groups andthe lunar cycle in 2819 cases. The cases were selected from the dead bodies brought into the mortuary of thedepartment for medico-legal postmortem examination from the various police stations of Varanasi betweenthe duration of 1st January 2013 to 17th July 2014. The compiled data were studied and analyzed statisticallyby employing the ‘one-way parametric ANOVA.’ It was observed that out of 2819 cases the most affectedage group was between 21-40 years (52.4%) followed by the age group 41-60 years (23.1%) and 13-20 years(13.7%). The insignificant rise in unnatural death among different phases of the lunar cycle of different agegroups indicates minimal correlation and association with the lunar cycle. A detailed study may be done inthe future considering one parameter at a time.

India accompanies the world witnessing a rapidly spreading global pandemic of Covid-19. On 24 March,the Government of India ordered a nationwide lockdown that triggered the mass migration of daily wagesworkers back to their native states. Without prior testing for SARS-CoV-2, it imposed a new challengetowards the authorities to prevent the possible spread of infection. The study aims to determine the infectionstatus of migrants who died in the jurisdiction of Varanasi district during their journey and the possible risk ofspread of Covid-19 to frontline workers. The study was conducted between 24 March 2020 and 10 July 2020.A total of 6 cases came to our department who died during travel. The nasopharyngeal and oropharyngealswabs were taken after the body arrived in the mortuary and sent for detection of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCRmethod to the Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL), Department of Microbiology of ourInstitute. A total of six cases were included in this study, of which 3 were positive for SARS-CoV-2 whileothers were negative. None of them had symptoms of Covid-19 infection, such as respiratory difficulties,sore throat or fever. The guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare were limitedin scope to hospital deaths and lacked guidelines to be followed by police personnel while investigatingunnatural deaths. This brings the police personnel at risk of contracting Covid-19 infection as the cases aregetting tested after the arrival at mortuary. The only way of protection is prevention, which mandates layingdown the guidelines at the earliest.

Death from road traffic accidents (RTA) and in particular motor vehicle traffic accidents have been characterized worldwide as a hidden epidemic which affects all sectors of society. Blunt trauma to the abdominal region is one of the major causes of mortality and the liver and spleen are the most frequently damaged organs in these cases. This study involved the road traffic accidents cases that represented blunt trauma to liver, spleen and associated abdominal organs. The relatively fixed position of the liver and its large size makes it more prone for injury in blunt trauma of the abdomen. Liver has ligamentous attachment to diaphragm and posterior abdominal wall which act as sites of shearing force during deceleration injury. The liver and spleen trauma is followed by intestine, stomach, kidney, pelvic fractures and rupture of urinary bladder.

Road traffic injuries are one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries including India and are a major health and social problem causing largest number of injuries and fatalities worldwide. The present study was conducted on the cases selected from the dead bodies brought into the mortuary of the Department of Forensic Medicine, for medico-legal post-mortem examination from the various police station of Varanasi region. The epidemiological aspect of the study included victim’s age, gender and educational, residential, occupational, socio-economic status etc. The highest number of deaths was noted in 21-30 years age group males, indicating their more vulnerability than females. The drivers should be properly trained by authorized centers, medically fit and mentally alert, issuing licenses after strict testing of driving skills, medical fitness and periodic review of driving skills should be done to minimize the road traffic accidents and hence mortality.