Criminal Investigations: Deaths, Assaults, Poisoning, Accidents

An unnatural death triggers a fixed sequence. The Station House Officer records the information as an FIR under BNSS 2023 Section 173, then conducts an inquest under BNSS Section 194 at the scene. The inquest panchnama records position of body, injuries visible to the naked eye, weapons, ligature, environment and witness statements. Where the death is of a woman within seven years of marriage, in police custody, or in suspicious circumstances, BNSS Section 196 mandates inquiry by an Executive Magistrate rather than the police officer. The body then goes for post-mortem to the nearest medico-legal autopsy centre (AIIMS Delhi, KEM Mumbai, JJ Hospital, GMC casework centres in state capitals).

The substantive offence sits in BNS 2023 Chapter VI. Section 100 defines culpable homicide; Section 101 defines murder; Section 103 prescribes punishment for murder (death or life imprisonment plus fine); Section 105 punishes culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Exceptions to murder (grave and sudden provocation, private defence, public servant exceeding power, sudden fight, consent) carry forward from IPC 300 into BNS 101 exceptions. Section 106 covers death by rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, with sub-section (2) carving out hit-and-run.

Dowry death is the highest-frequency unnatural-death MCQ. BNS Section 80 retains the IPC 304B definition: death of a woman within seven years of marriage by burns, bodily injury or otherwise than under normal circumstances, with cruelty or harassment for dowry soon before death. Punishment is minimum seven years extending to life. The evidentiary presumption sits in BSA 2023 Section 117 (formerly IEA Section 113B): once the prosecution proves cruelty soon before death, the court shall presume the husband or relative caused the dowry death. Pawan Kumar v. State of Haryana (1998 and 2001)

Assault investigations cover the spectrum from simple hurt to attempted murder. BNS 2023 Section 114 defines hurt; Section 115 prescribes punishment for voluntarily causing hurt (up to one year or fine to one thousand rupees or both). Section 116 defines grievous hurt with eight clauses (emasculation, permanent privation of sight or hearing, fracture or dislocation of bone or tooth, hurt endangering life or causing inability to follow ordinary pursuits for twenty days). Section 117 punishes grievous hurt; Section 118 covers hurt by dangerous weapons or means including acid attack, and Sections 124 and 125 carry the acid-attack-specific provisions (10 years to life imprisonment).

The investigation is built on the medico-legal report (MLR) prepared at the casualty by the duty doctor on the prescribed state format. The MLR records the alleged history, time and place of incident, type of weapon alleged, examination findings (each injury numbered with site, size, shape, edges, surrounding skin and age), and the opinion on the nature of injury (simple or grievous, weapon class, age). The investigating officer attaches the MLR to the case diary and forwards weapons recovered to the FSL under BNSS 176.

For Paper 2 the age of injury table is examinable: red and bleeding (0 to 24 hours), red with scab (1 to 3 days), reddish-brown scab (4 to 7 days), brown scab falling (1 to 2 weeks), pink scar (2 to 4 weeks), white scar (months). Antemortem versus postmortem injuries are distinguished by vital reaction: gaping, bleeding, retraction of edges, inflammatory cells and clot formation only in antemortem injuries.

Defence wounds on the forearms, palms and back of hands are pathognomonic of a victim resisting an armed assault and are routinely photographed before suturing. Attempt to commit murder is BNS Section 109 and

Sexual-offence investigation is the most protocol-heavy block in this topic. The substantive offences sit in BNS 2023 Sections 63 to 71. Section 63 defines rape (carrying forward the post-Nirbhaya IPC 375). Section 64 prescribes punishment for rape (minimum ten years extending to life). Section 65(1) punishes rape of a woman under sixteen years (minimum twenty years extending to life). Section 65(2) punishes rape of a woman under twelve years (minimum twenty years extending to life or death after the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2018). Section 66 punishes rape causing death or persistent vegetative state. Section 70(1) is gang rape with a minimum of twenty years. Section 71 punishes repeat offenders.

For victims below eighteen the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 (POCSO) governs. POCSO is gender-neutral as to victim, mandates reporting by any person aware of the offence (Section 19), in-camera trial in a Special Court (Sections 28 and 37), examination of the child within 24 hours by a woman doctor at the place of the child's choice (Section 27), and presumption of culpable mental state of the accused (Section 30). The POCSO Amendment 2019 added the death penalty for aggravated penetrative sexual assault.

The medical examination is governed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Guidelines and Protocols 2014 titled "Medico-legal care for survivors of sexual violence". The protocol mandates: informed written consent on the prescribed format, examination in a private room by a trained medical officer (woman doctor preferred), history including last consensual intercourse and bathing or douching, head-to-toe examination, genital and per-rectal examination as clinically indicated, sample collection into a sealed Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence (SAFE) kit with chain of custody. The 2014 protocol explicitly bans the per-vaginum two-finger test

Poisoning is a special species of unnatural death where the substantive offence rides on BNS hurt or homicide provisions (Sections 117, 119, 120 for hurt by poison; Sections 100 to 105 where death follows). The investigation hinges on viscera collection at autopsy under BNSS Section 194 and forwarding to the Chemical Examiner / FSL Toxicology Division.

The standard viscera set on the post-mortem requisition is: stomach with contents, upper part of small intestine with contents, about 250 g of liver, half each of kidneys, spleen, brain, about 30 ml of blood (preserved in sodium fluoride and potassium oxalate), urine, bile. The preservative is saturated solution of common salt (saline) for general viscera; rectified spirit is used where alcohol or volatile poisons are the suspected agent and saturated salt for everything else. Form 21 of the Chemical Examiner is the standard forwarding requisition in most states; viscera bottles are sealed with the autopsy surgeon's seal, sample seal is sent separately, and the chain of custody is logged in the police case diary.

Common Indian poisons for the Paper 2 question are predictable. Aluminium phosphide (Celphos, Quickphos) is the leading agrochemical suicide poison in north India; tablets release phosphine gas with a garlic odour, post-mortem shows haemorrhagic gastritis, the silver nitrate paper test bedside is positive. Organophosphate insecticides (parathion, malathion, chlorpyrifos) inhibit acetylcholinesterase, present with the SLUDGE syndrome (salivation, lacrimation, urination, defecation, GI cramps, emesis) and miosis; antidote is atropine plus pralidoxime. Oleander (Cerbera odollam, Thevetia peruviana) is a Kerala and coastal-belt favourite, cardiac glycoside, post-mortem shows non-specific cardiac findings, identification is by HPLC of kernel in stomach contents.

Other India-relevant agents: datura (Datura stramonium) seeds in food, anticholinergic delirium, common in highway robbery cases;

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are the single largest source of unnatural death in India, with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways reporting over 1.5 lakh fatalities a year. The substantive offence is BNS 2023 Section 106: sub-section (1) punishes causing death by any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide with up to five years and fine; sub-section (2) carves out the hit-and-run scenario where the driver fails to report to a police officer or magistrate soon after, with up to ten years and fine. BNS Section 281 punishes rash driving on a public way with up to six months or fine to one thousand rupees or both.

The procedural overlay is the Motor Vehicles Act 1988. Section 134 requires the driver to take the injured to the nearest hospital and report to the police within 24 hours; Section 187 prescribes punishment for failure to comply. Section 161 establishes the hit-and-run compensation scheme. Section 166 governs the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) compensation petition. Insurance under Section 146 is mandatory third-party cover.

Scene reconstruction is the forensic content the syllabus tests. The investigating officer prepares the First Accident Report (FAR) at the scene; the Final Form / Motor Final Report (MFR) is filed at chargesheet stage. Field documentation includes total station or measuring-wheel scene plan, photographs of the vehicles, victims and roadway, recovery of debris, skid-mark measurements and tyre impressions.

Skid marks quantify pre-impact braking. The classical reconstruction formula is v = sqrt(2 mu g d) where mu is the coefficient of friction (dry asphalt 0.7, wet 0.4, gravel 0.5), g is 9.81 m per second squared, and d is the skid length in metres.

Every case type above runs the same procedural spine. BNSS 2023 Section 173 governs information of a cognisable offence and the registration of FIR. Sub-section (1) proviso codifies the zero-FIR practice: information can be recorded at any station regardless of jurisdiction, then transferred. The FIR must be read over to the informant and a free copy given. e-FIR is permitted for offences punishable up to three years with verification.

BNSS Section 176 is the heart of forensic India. Sub-section (3) mandates that for offences punishable with seven years or more, the forensic expert shall visit the scene of crime for evidence collection. This was a major procedural shift from CrPC 1973 and operationalises the National Forensic Infrastructure Enhancement Scheme.

BNSS Section 193 is the chargesheet provision. Sub-section (3)(ii) sets the time limit: 60 days for offences punishable up to 10 years and 90 days for offences punishable with death, life or more than 10 years (carrying forward CrPC 167(2)). The chargesheet must be filed in electronic form with all forensic and electronic evidence attached.

BSA 2023 Section 39 governs expert opinion. Sub-section (2) explicitly recognises information furnished by an expert as evidence. The forensic analyst, the autopsy surgeon and the chemical examiner are the three categories of expert routinely deposed. The expert's report is exhibited and the expert is cross-examined under BSA Section 144 (formerly IEA 137) on chief, cross and re-examination.

Aarushi Talwar (Noida 2008) and Sheena Bora (Mumbai 2012) are recent case studies the NTA examiner is likely to weave into match-the-following items: Aarushi for the chain-of-custody failures at a domestic homicide scene, Sheena Bora for delayed discovery and skeletal-remains identification. The Nirbhaya case (Delhi 2012) is the master case study cutting across sexual offence, criminal assault, vehicular movement of the victim and dying declarations.