Hyderabad Police launches forensic corpse carrier

Hyderabad: Hyderabad City Police today launched a dedicated vehicle “Forensic Corpse Carrier” to enable investigating officers to transport bodies from the crime scene to mortuary.

“Under medico legal cases, the body will be transported in the ‘Forensic Corpse Carrier’ from the crime scene to mortuary. The body will be packed in scientific way,” Hyderabad Commissioner of Police M Mahendar Reddy told reporters here.

In most of the crime cases like suspicious deaths, murder, burning, drowning, firing, explosions, poisoning and accident cases, the body is subjected to autopsy to elucidate the fact of act by medical examination and specimen preservation, he said.

“In most of the death investigations, especially where dead bodies are found under suspicious circumstances, it is mandatory to conduct forensic autopsy at mortuary by the forensic doctors to know the exact cause of death,” Reddy said.

Carrying corpse to the mortuary is a challenging task for the investigating officer and the managements of Ambulance services do not show interest in carrying the bodies and the investigators have to requeste owners of vehicles and auto trolleys to take these corpses for the autopsy, he said.

Police officials said the initiative was a first of its kind in the country.

As part of ‘Forensic Corpse Carrier’, the morticians are given basic training to handle stretcher and also provided a kit containing additional stretchers, stalk of body covers, surgical gloves and disposable gloves, caps and masks among other items.

The vehicle is stationed at Traffic complex and will be available round the clock. Upon the requisition from the Investigating Officer concerned, the vehicle will be sent to the crime site and corpse will be carried to the Autopsy Centre, the senior police officer said, adding they may procure two more such vehicles.

PTI