Suspicious deaths in newly married females: A medicolegal analysis.

ABSTRACT

A rapid increase in unnatural deaths in females, especially in the first few years of their married life was observed in our society for last few decades. This drew the attention of people and forced the socio-political system to investigate and develop preventive measures [1-3]. In this study most of the victims were young (18-22 years) Hindu females of middle or lower-middle socioeconomic status living in a joint family with their husband & in- laws and died in suspicious circumstances within three years of their marriage. Majority of such deaths were suicidal or homicidal. Burning was the most common cause of death, followed by hanging and poisoning. Few of them were strangled to death and then burned to temper the evidences. Pressure for dowry was the single largest reason behind such deaths. Ill-treatment by the in-laws, rash and negligent behavior or extra-marital affairs of husbands, and mal-adjustment in females were other important reasons. Few of these deaths were also accidental, catching fire while cooking or handling open lamp/fire carelessly. Loose synthetic saris of the victims were responsible for large number of mortalities in this study.