Analysis of smiling photograph; Operation US-Bangla Air Crash.

Human identification may be difficult when there is no antemortem data available. A photograph of the deceased may be valuable in such cases. Digital advancement and inclusion in the lives of ordinary people makes it easier to retrieve clear, high-resolution photos from social media accounts and other places. This paper describes three cases of forensic dental identification from a US-Bangla plane crash in Nepal in which a charred body was positively identified from a smiling photograph provided by the deceased's family. Each case is unique and their identification rests on the availability of pre- and post-mortem information. Thus, the number of concordant points may vary from single to multiple; there is no defined criteria for minimum number of concordance for a positive dental identification.

Craniometric analysis for estimation of stature in Nepalese population--A study on an autopsy sample.

Establishing the identity of the deceased becomes essential when highly decomposed bodies, mutilated body parts or skeletal remains are recovered from mass fatality sites. In these situations, estimation of stature along with other parameters such as age, sex and race/ethnicity becomes important to establish the biological profile of the deceased. Following the Maoist insurgency in Nepal, there have been numerous discoveries of unidentified human remains in mass graves or otherwise. No systemic studies and anthropological data on the Nepalese population however, is available posing problems in anthropologic evaluation of the remains. The sample of the present study consisted of 200 autopsied cases (148 males and 52 female adult cadavers). During the autopsy, the scalp was reflected after giving a coronal incision extending from one mastoid to the other exposing the cranium in each case. Maximum cranial length (MCL), maximum cranial breadth (MCB), bi-zygomatic breadth (BZB), minimum frontal breadth (MFB) and length of parietal chord (PC) were then measured. Stature was measured as the length of the body from head to heel in centimeters with the heel, buttocks, back of the shoulders and the head in contact with the autopsy table. Linear and stepwise multiple regression models were derived for estimation of stature from cranial measurements. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate regression models show statistically significant correlation between stature and the cranial measurements. The present study opines that the stature estimation from cranial dimensions using multivariate linear regression models is more accurate than those of the univariate and bivariate regression models. This study presents a rare data from Nepalese population that show typical Asian features and thus, is significant from anthropologic and genetic point of view. The study observations further contribute a baseline data bank for forensic pathologists and specialists.

A review of violent and traumatic deaths in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The objective was to study the external causes of death reported in the autopsy centre in Kathmandu, Nepal. A retrospective review of case report documentation of all violent and traumatic death autopsies was conducted in Kathmandu from mid-July 2000 to mid-July 2004. A total of 4383 autopsies were conducted by the Department of Forensic Medicine in Kathmandu. There were 1072 (25%) cases of suicide, 380 (9%) homicide, 1399 (32%) accidental, 598 (14%) deaths as a result of natural diseases and 923 (21%) undetermined causes of death. The number of males was almost twice that of females (sex ratio 2.2:1). Persons aged 15 to 44 years comprised about two-thirds of the total reported fatalities (65.4%). Suicides were mostly reported due to hanging, homicides mostly due to firearms and explosives, accidents mostly due to road traffic injuries. More than 60% of road traffic injuries resulted among pedestrians. Suicides, homicides and accidental deaths remain a poorly identified public health issue in Nepal. Medico-legal autopsy reports can serve as an important tool in understanding fatalities from violence and injuries for countries similar to Nepal. Strengthening a regular mechanism for compilation and utilization of the information, however, remains a major challenge.