Background: Deaths due to poisons form inexorable part of all unnatural deaths in the current era of social, cultural and personal dilemma existing among mankind. Stress, poverty, financial insecurities, personal conflicts, unemployment, ill health, psychological disturbances, difficulties in psycho-social adaptability and loneliness contribute significantly to the ever-increasing mortality in poison deaths.

Background Post-mortem animal predation affects human corpses in various ways. Lesions are a characteristic of the type of terrestrial or aquatic predators. These lesions can be misinterpreted and may be challenging for the forensic pathologist. Different species in freshwater cause different types of lesions depending on their feeding habits. There is a paucity in the literature about post-mortem lesions caused by freshwater animals. Case presentation A 24-year-old man had accidentally drowned while fishing in the River Cauvery. His body was recovered after 3 days. Though the cause of death was drowning, post-mortem animal activity was observed during autopsy, and a live juvenile crab was also found along with the body. Distinct post-mortem lesions caused by decapods Oziotelphusa wagrakarowensis and small fishes Hypselobarbus dubius and Dawkinsia arulius are described. Conclusions Aquatic predators and their activity on the corpse are different from that of terrestrial predators. Knowledge of the local fauna is required to correlate the lesions on the body to the predator.

Background: The Indian Railways, started over 167 years ago, is among the world’s largest rail network. In acountry like India, the railway network is ideal for long-distance travel and movement of bulk commodities,apart from being an energy efficient and economic mode of conveyance and transport. Although beneficialin a multitude of ways, railway fatalities are known to cause tremendous loss, in terms of human lives aswell as economic forfeiture.Methods and results: A 7-month prospective and descriptive type of autopsy study was conducted at theDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital attached to ShriAtal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College and Research Institute, Bangalore. Out of 98 cases of railwayfatalities, maximum number of deaths belonged to 21- 30 years age group i.e., 33 cases (33.67%) with malepreponderance (88 cases – 89.79%). The Hindu community contributed to 54 cases (55.10%). Maximumcases occurred in the monsoon season (34 cases - 34.69%) and majority of victims were found dead at thescene (90 cases - 91.83%). The predominant manner of death was suicidal (49 cases - 50%) and the mostcommon cause for death was shock and hemorrhage (53 cases - 54.08%).Conclusion: Studies such as this, can help in better understanding of railway fatalities which can help policymakers in implementing counteractive measures to prevent accidental deaths, discourage suicidal deaths andto improve railway safety in general.