KEM Hospital gets 11 more skulls for facial recognition

After the forensics department of KEM Hospital helped the police identify victims in two cases of murder since December by using facial reconstruction techniques,

After the forensics department of KEM Hospital helped the police identify victims in two cases of murder since December by using facial reconstruction techniques, the hospital has received 11 more cases from across the state.

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“So far, we have received 11 skulls. Two of them are too charred to identify. We have also received exhumed skulls for face reconstruction. Most of the bodies in the early or second stage of decomposition,” said Dr Hemlata Pandey, forensic odontologist at KEM Hospital.

However, due to the sudden rise in demand for facial reconstruction, the hospital is struggling to find space for skulls. “We don’t have the space to accommodate so many skulls. As these are police evidence, we need to have special security while storing them,” said a senior doctor from the forensic and toxicology department.

Facial reconstruction plays a major role in identifying human remains when the chances of DNA or fingerprint match are bleak. KEM Hospital has finished the facial reconstruction process on five skulls, including two female, from unidentified bodies. Police from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Kolkata are reported to have approached the hospital for help in investigating suspicious death cases.

In 2018, KEM Hospital became the first civic hospital in Maharashtra to perform facial reconstruction in suspected murder cases. “This procedure might not be able to provide 100% representation of the victim, but a closer one for identifications. It involves skill of artistry, osteology, and anatomy,” said Dr Pandey.

Depending on the condition of the skulls, it takes between one to two months to complete the facial reconstruction.

“Every human being has their own unique facial points like finger prints. It gives individualistic features to each human. So, calculating all these facial points, the experts place clay or flesh units on it. These require proper mathematical calculations along with the gender, ethnicity and age of the victim,” said Dr Harish Pathak, head of the forensic and toxicology department at KEM Hospital.