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A case of unnatural death was registered by the police as homicide due to the hue and cry made by the local people. The police could not locate the ‘murderer’. The case was ultimately referred to the Forensic Science Laboratory at Shimla. Examination of the evidence proved that the case was one of accidental death. The victim had been hit and dragged along by a moving train. The forensic aspects of the case are presented and discussed in this article.

Two cases of alleged dowry deaths are presented from Haryana State, India. In each case a young lady died after receiving burn injuries. Forensic examination unveiled the mysteries of both deaths and helped in apprehending and prosecuting the culprits. Case 1, allegedly a dowry death, proved to be an accidental burning and Case 2, stated to be a suicidal death, was proved to be homicidal.

A young lady was alleged to have died due to accidental burns from a kerosene pressure stove. The dying declaration read that the deceased caught fire accidentally. Evaluation of physical evidence present at the site of the incident, the dying declaration and examination of the body refuted accidental burning from the stove. It proved to be a case of suicide with assistance from the accused due to delivery of insufficient dowry. The accused was convicted on the basis of the physical evidence collected from the scene and evaluated by the forensic experts.

A case of arson is presented from the State of Himachal Pradesh, India. The case was initially reported as an accidental fire due to electrical short circuiting but was suspected by the police to be arson as Government money worth 1.32 lakh rupees was also stated to have been burned in the fire. Forensic investigations proved the case to be arson but no currency notes had been burned in the fire.

Self-strangulation for committing suicide by the use of ligature is admittedly rare. A suicidal strangulation case from Haryana State, India is discussed in the light of scene of occurrence, investigations of the ligature and its knot. Initially the case was suspected by the police to be a murder, but proved to be of suicidal strangulation.