26 October,2021 08:04 AM IST | Mumbai | Vinod Kumar Menon
The surgical implant removed from victim’s leg
If not for a surgical implant plate on the left leg of the victim, it would have been difficult to establish the identity of the dismembered, headless body found at Antop Hill last month, said forensic surgeons from Sion hospital.
The autopsy of Dada Jagdale was performed at the Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (FMT) Department, Sion hospital, and the implant plate was extracted. A unique identification code and the manufacturer's name painted/embossed on the plate had helped police trace the hospital and the surgeon who had done the implant.
"I was sure it wouldn't be a routine autopsy when I was told about the incident. The victim's remains were brought in parts - torso, two severed upper and lower limbs," said Dr Rajesh Dhere, professor and head of the FMT department.
An autopsy surgeon, on condition of anonymity, told mid-day, "The left leg of the deceased had a big scar, suggestive of previous surgery around the fibula (sometimes called the calf bone). It was decided to dissect the scar (not a routine practice during autopsy), and a stainless steel surgical implant plate was found."
"An identification number and the manufacturing company's name on the plate was a vital clue to establish the identity of the deceased."
Using the ID printed on the surgical plate, police contacted the manufacturing firm, and procured details of suppliers, sub-vendors, hospitals and surgeons to whom the implants with similar ID numbers were delivered. Thereafter, details of individual patients were meticulously traced.
Meanwhile, the crime branch was able to trace a probable suspect through their parallel investigation, which eventually led to a suspected victim in Solapur. This is where the information from the plate proved essential.
"During enquiry, close relatives of the suspected victim confirmed that he had a surgical implant fixed in his left leg after an accident in 2018. Thus, the identity of the victim was established -- Dada Ankush Jagdale from Solapur. His family informed police about another surgical implant in his left arm. The doctors then removed an intramedullary pin from the body's left radial bone, further confirming the identity," the surgeon said.
"A large number of fibular plates with the same Identification number was manufactured by the company. Also, there is no single authority registry record of such surgical implants in India. In foreign nations, a case like this would take minutes to confirm the patient details, as each implant has a unique unrepeatable code, along with central digitised registration of the same code. A similar system like this in today's digital India must be a norm," said Dr Dhere.
"We have done similar autopsies in the past, wherein unknown bodies, with missing parts, make identification difficult. In such cases, it is crucial that police send the remains to a medical college where the forensic team can go beyond the routine autopsy procedure and look for vital clues, like dental or old surgical implants, and help investigators identify the deceased," Dr Dhere added.
A police source said, "The surgical plate was one of the clues to identify the body. We had other technical clues, like mobile location, etc., which helped us reach the victim's village in Solapur."
Jagdale's remains have not been handed over to his family. "We are awaiting the DNA report from State Forensic Science Laboratory, Kalina, which is analysing the deceased's sample with that of his father and son," police said, adding that only when the scientific report confirms his identity, we can hand over his remains to his family.
Now, the hunt is on for the missing head. "Our team, along with the dumping ground contractors, are looking for the head at Deonar dumping ground," said Senior Police Inspector Indrajit More of Unit 4 crime branch.
"On an average, nearly 700 to 800 dumpers visit the dumping ground daily, and nearly 10,000 dumpers have emptied the waste here over a week. It is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Our officers and men are working, and we are hopeful to find the head," the police source added.
Speaking from Ahmedabad, Mayur Bathani, proprietor of M/S Image Ortho Surgical (Pvt) Limited, the supplier of surgical implants, told mid-day, "Every manufacturer has its unique code and identification marks embossed on the implants. It is to identify our manufactured implants."
"We usually keep records of three to four years, and this [Jagdale's] implant was manufactured in 2017. Hence, could easily provide the details to the investigating police team from Mumbai who visited us. "This is the first case, wherein, our implant has been used for identification of a dead body by police. As per our records, we made nearly 41 implants in 2017 with similar batch codes," said Bathani.
