Forensic study of the distribution of diatoms in Bhakra canal near Narwana, Haryana, India

Abstract

When a dead body is recovered from the water, the forensic scientist has to ascertain not only the exact cause of death (anti-mortem or post-mortem drowning) but also the accurate place of drowning. The diatom test is conducted to ascertain the presence or absence of diatoms in the tissue/bone marrow recovered from the drowned victims during postmortem. The result proves to be very promising and widely used as a marker to solve the cases of suspected drowning. Therefore, in the present study, an attempt has been made to study the diatom profile of Bhakra Canal near Narwana, Haryana, India. The diatoms were identified by using both light and scanning electron microscope. A total of 13 genera and 24 species of diatoms were observed and Navicula, Nitzschia and Synedra were found to be commonly occurring diatom species, Cymbella, Cocconeis, and Aulacoseira were identified as seasonally occurring diatoms, while Rhoicosphenia, and Achnanthes were site-specific diatoms. In this way the presence of site-specific diatoms helps in pinpointing the putative site of drowning, which goes a long way in helping the forensic scientists to answers the questions related to drowning.