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Citation |
More S, Bera S. Internet J. Forensic Med. Toxicol. 2018; 19(1): e2. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2018, Anil Aggrawal) |
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DOI |
unavailable |
PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
An experimental case was designed at Ballygunge campus pond (22°31'N, 88°21' E) of the University of Calcutta, India for determining the applicability of fresh water diatoms in solving aquatic crime related cases. One volunteer acted as a "Victim" and another as an "Assailant". Several items were collected as physical evidences (fragment of rope near the crime scene, mud encrusted shoes and water soaked clothes of the "Victim", the "Prime Suspect (Assailant)" and also shoes of two unknown suspects who were not involved in this experiment). Pond sediments and water samples were collected from the experimental pond and three other ponds of adjoining places viz., Baruipur (22°22' N, 88°26' E), Garia (22°27' N, 88°23' E) and North Dumdum (22°38' N, 88°24'E) of West Bengal, India. The study revealed diverse types of diatom taxa viz., Hanzschia sp., Nitzschia sp., Cyclotella sp., Navicula sp., Stephanodiscus sp., Melosira sp., Pinnularia sp. and Amphora sp. Diatom assemblages of the experimental pond and other three ponds were different from each other and the diatom assemblages recovered from shoes of two unknown suspect volunteers were also different from the experimental pond. Interestingly diatoms from the experimental pond were quite similar with the diatom profiles of rope, shoes/clothes of the "Victim" and the "Prime Suspect". Present study suggests that the mud encrusted shoes and water soaked clothes of the "Prime Suspect" ("Assailant"), "Victim" and the rope originated from the same pond/locality and thus confirms that diatom study may be successfully used in future forensic investigations in India. Language: en |