Study Of Characteristics Of Victims And Alleged Accused In Cases Of Deaths Due To Homicide
Authors: Vinod Vasant Rathod  , Umesh Kumar Choudhary  , Pankaj Suresh Ghormade  , Ajay Narmadaprasad Keoliya  
Published: December 2024

Aims and Objectives: Homicide is a cruel act of mankind. It reveals one of the darkest sides of the society. Homicidal crimes represent a reasonable proxy for all different kinds of violent crimes in general. In this modern world violent crimes are being executed professionally. Such criminal activities follow peculiar socio-demographic profiles of victims and the accused involved. The study aimed to find out the different characteristics of victims and perpetrators i.e. alleged accused in homicidal deaths  
Materials and Methods:  The present prospective study was carried out on 179 homicidal deaths at the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology of Indira Gandhi Government Medical College, Nagpur over a period from January 2013 to October 2014. The Institutional and Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik ethical committee approved the study protocol.
Observation and Results:  Male victims were most commonly attacked by acquaintances (argument, quarrel, momentary rage) in 33 (18.44%) cases followed by friends in 28 (15.64%) whereas females by their husbands or In-laws in 13 (7.26%) cases. No victim-assailant relationship could be traced in 73 (40.78%) cases.  64 (35.75%) victims were attacked by a single assailant of which 47 (26.26%) were males and 17 (9.50%) were females followed by by two assailants at a time in 21 (11.73%) cases 16 (8.94%) males and 5 (2.79%) females. Incidences where more than five assailants were involved included only male victims in 7 (3.91%) cases. The numbers of assailants were unknown in 68 (37.99%) cases. Maximum homicidal attacks occurred at or near the victim's house in 54 (30.17%) cases out of which 32 (17.88%) were males and 22 (12.29%) females followed by incidences occurring on the road or streetside in 48 (26.82%) cases. Male victims were commonly attacked on the road or streetside in 45 (25.14%) followed by 32 (17.88%) cases at victims' houses. In contrast, females were commonly attacked at the victim’s house in 22 (12.29%) cases followed by roadside attacks in 03 (1.68%) cases. The main motive behind the homicidal attack was quarrels in 47 (26.26%) cases followed by enmity or revenge in 46 (25.70%). Males were common victims due to quarrel 29 (16.20%) and enmity 24 (13.40%). Cases of sexual assault or illicit sexual relationships were the principal motive behind homicidal attacks on females. Sharp and pointed weapons were most commonly used in executing homicidal attacks in 56 (31.28%) cases followed by hard and blunt in 51(28.49%) cases. Combined blunt and sharp weapons were used in 11(5.03%) cases. Sharp weapons commonly used were knife 37 (20.67%), gupti 18 (10.05%) and axe in 9 (5.02%) cases. Hard and blunt weapons commonly used in this area were stones 29 (16.20%), bricks 15 (8.37%), bamboo sticks 12 (6.70%), iron rods 11 (6.14%), etc. Maximum victims 125 (69.83%) died at the place of homicidal assault or on their way to the hospital. Out of 54 hospitalized victims, 35 (19.55%) died within the first 24 hours. Blunt weapon injuries were common in spot-dead victims whereas sharp weapons were in admitted cases who died later during treatment. In all these cases, stomach contents, blood, and other routine viscera were sent to the forensic science laboratory for chemical analysis. 
Conclusions: Males outnumbered females in all aspects of Homicidal deaths. Overall specific pattern was observed which could help police investigating authorities in tracing out characteristics of victims and assailants in homicidal deaths reported shortly.