Effects of preservative on foetus tissues and DNA profiling in forensic cases

Abstract

It was in the news when a 10 year old girl became pregnant at Chandigarh in India after being repeatedly raped by a relative in 2017. There are lots of cases of teenage pregnancies involving 14 to 17 year olds. The girl in question has been described as a happy smiley child. On 28 July, Supreme Court of India rejected a petition filed on her behalf to allow her to abort, on the grounds that it is 32 weeks pregnancy. A doctors’ panel was formed and advised the court that a termination at this stage would be too risky for the girl, and foetus was doing well. It was a huge disappointment for the girl’s family. In another case a girl eloped with some friend on 6 September at 7 AM in the morning when she went to the school and did not turn back. First Information report was registered in the nearby police station. The girl was recovered on 31 March and medical examination was done and she was declared pregnant. MTP was done on the 12 May. Total five items were collected including part of foetus in the form of tissue in normal Saline (NS), complete foetus in formalin and placenta in two parts in formalin as well as normal saline, along with blood sample of the victim.