Role Of Diatoms In Forensic Investigation: Case Studies From Haryana

Diatoms, the most common type of phytoplankton, are a major group of eukaryotic algae which are ubiquitous to a wide variety of aquatic habitats. These are useful in linking suspects and victims to crime scenes in and around water. When a person drowns, water is inhaled into the lungs and enters into the circulatory system, so any diatom present in the drowning medium can ultimately find their way into internal organs such as bone marrow, spleen and brain of a drowning victim. Any diatom found in these organs would thus provide an indication of the ante mortem inhalation of water, suggesting that either drowning was a cause or contributing factor to death. From a historical prospective, one of the most important issues in the study of drowning has been the search for a sensitive, specific, and easily applicable test for the cause of death. On this basis the diatom test has emerged as the foremost laboratory process for the detection of drowning. In the present study, five drowning cases were examined with the help of “Diatom Test” in the forensic science laboratory, Madhuban, Haryana (India). Out of these, four cases were found positive and one case was found negative for the drowning.