In modern days hair is considered as an important tool of study in forensic science to solve complicated vetero-legal cases. The examination of hair from the crime scene is extremely important in the criminal investigation as hair is an appendage of the

Authors

  • Munmun Sarma Department of Anatomy & Histology, College of Veterinary Science, AAU, Khanapara, Guwahati, Assam, India,
  • Kamal B. D. Choudhury Department of Anatomy & Histology, College of Veterinary Science, AAU, Khanapara, Guwahati, Assam, India
  • Athang Singson Deputy Director, Biology Division, Directorate of Forensic Science, Kahilipara, Guwahati Assam, India
  • Jahan Ahmed Department of Anatomy & Histology, College of Veterinary Science, AAU, Khanapara, Guwahati, Assam, India
  • Nirmali Sarma Department of Surgery and Radiology,College of Veterinary Science, AAU, Khanapara, Guwahati-781 022, Assam, India

Keywords:

Cuticular Scale pattern, Forensic Approach, Hair Anatomy, Hair medulla

Abstract

In modern days hair is considered as an important tool of study in forensic science to solve complicated vetero-legal cases.  The examination of hair from the crime scene is extremely important in the criminal investigation as hair is an appendage of the skin  and resist putrefaction; thus, is of an evidential value when other evidence is not available. The present investigation was undertaken to  study the hair of few species of wild and semi-wild mammals e.g. Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris), Indian one horn Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros  unicornis), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), Mithun (Bos frontalis), Barking deer (Cervulus muntjac) and Yak (Bos grunniens), to find out  the specificity of the hair to the animal-based on indices like color, length, an average diameter of the hair- shaft, cortico-medullary  index, and cuticular scale pattern to develop baseline information to solve the vetero-legal cases. The present study revealed that the  cuticular scale pattern of a tiger was coronal simple, imbricate crenate in rhinoceros, imbricate flattened in elephant, imbricate crenate  in mithun, imbricate flattened in barking deer, and imbricate crenate in yak. The mean diameter of their shafts ( in µm) were found to  be tiger 140 ± 0.417, rhinoceros 160 ± 1.199, elephant 200 ± 1.958, mithun 150 ± 2.665, barking deer 135 ± 1.864, and yak 150 ± 3.670.  Therefore, a cumulative data derived from these indices are helpful to determine the species of animal they belong to. 

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Published

2021-10-10

How to Cite

Sarma, M., Choudhury, K.B.D., Singson, A., Ahmed, J., & Sarma, N. (2021). In modern days hair is considered as an important tool of study in forensic science to solve complicated vetero-legal cases. The examination of hair from the crime scene is extremely important in the criminal investigation as hair is an appendage of the . Indian Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Biotechnology, 17(4), 66–69. Retrieved from https://acspublisher.com/journals/index.php/ijvsbt/article/view/2333