Profile of homicidal cases at the mortuary of a tertiary care hospital in Ambala, Haryana: A ten-year autopsy-based retrospective study

• Author Details:   
• Shivam Sharma
• Arpan Kumar Pan ^*
• Kanika Kohli
• Abhishek Anand
• K.K Aggarwal

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Background: The increasing rates of homicides worldwide are a grave concern for any society. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2021 report shows an increasing frequency of homicides in India from 2019-2021.

Aim and Objective: The study aimed to find out the patterns and trends of homicidal deaths in the Ambala district of Haryana, India.

Materials and Methods: The study includes 36 homicidal deaths for which autopsies were conducted from January 2014 to December 2023. Data were collected from autopsy reports and police inquests and were charted and analyzed in Microsoft Excel 2021.

Results: Among 1558 autopsies during the study period, 36 (2.3%) were homicides. Males, were more common victims (86.1%). The majority, 19 (52.8%), were 21-40 years. Most were residents of rural areas (31, 86.1%), and laborers (14, 38.9%) constituted the majority of the victims. The monsoon season (July-September) recorded the most cases (11, 30.6%). The homicides occurred mainly during the daytime, from 06:00 AM to 02:00 PM, with 14 (38.9%) cases. The majority of the cases, 26 (72.2%), died immediately or were brought dead to the hospital. In most cases, 21 (58.3%), only a single offender was found. Blunt weapons were most common in 14 (38.9%) cases of committing homicide, followed by ligature materials and sharp-edged weapons in seven (19.4%) cases each. The cause of death in the majority, 10 (27.8%), was due to hemorrhagic shock.

Conclusion: The study highlighted prevalent weapons in homicides and demographic profiles of the victims, which require intervention from the agencies to lower the murder rates.

Keywords: Autopsy, Homicide, Blunt weapon, Sharp weapon, Fatal injury.