Forensic Medicine and Toxicology is the branch of medical science that apply medical knowledge to the administration of justice. Injustice causes great mental, social, spiritual, and physical trauma, and this branch participates in preventing and healing the trauma of grieving people. Thus, we may also say that it is involved in treatment by facilitating the administration of justice.
The department of FMT, AIIMS Patna, has been rendering its services since 2013 and the department has been progressing on the developmental path. The department faculties contributes to the department's efficient functioning and progressive development. The postgraduate course of MD (FMT) started in the department from January 2019 session ad is successfully running since then. The department started Clinical Forensic Medicine services in the year 2020 at AIIMS Patna. The CFM services include examination of survivors of sexual assault offences, medicolegal calls from the wards, providing medicolegal opinions in injury cases, age determination, poisoning cases admitted in the wards/emergency etc.
In view of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in the year 2020 and the crisis arising thereby, the Institute administration conferred upon the department the responsibility of the management of each and every death case occurring due to or suspected of COVID-19 at AIIMS Patna and also the after-death management of the deceased bodies in a dignified manner thus practicing the concept of humanitarian forensics. The department was granted permission to start post-mortem examination services in year 2020-2021, and 10 (Ten) police stations in the Patna district were earmarked as its jurisdiction and it has provided uninterrupted services since then. Apart from the jurisdictional police station, in critical and complex cases, the department also receives referred cases from other parts of the State for medicolegal autopsies, skeletal and bone examinations, etc.
The department is actively involved in providing medicolegal expert opinions to the Police, Human Rights Commission, CID, CBI, etc. The department conducted the first Narcoanalysis in the State of Bihar as part of a multidisciplinary committee with the help of Anesthesia, Psychiatry, and Forensic Science Laboratory experts. The department also conducts psychological autopsy in cases referred by the investigative authorities. Disability board and other medical boards are also being assisted by the department.
The state-of-the-art autopsy block under this department is equipped with the latest types of equipment and facilities. The department has implemented a novel and innovative concept of Forensic Nursing in the Institute where the nursing officers are continuously posted in the mortuary and manage the daily affairs of the mortuary.
The department's faculties are actively involved in providing training to senior residents, postgraduate residents, MBBS students, tutors of the Institute on medicolegal aspects of clinical practices as part of their Foundation Course. The department's faculties are also actively involved in providing training to medical officers, police personnel and also participate in many National and International conferences and involved in research by doing publications in indexed journals and books.
The department has initiated the process of establishing a Forensic Histopathology Laboratory Services, Forensic Anthropology Lab and Forensic Radiology Laboratory Services (X-rays, CT Scan for Virtual Autopsy) for forensic investigations and academic research in post-mortem imaging. The department also envisages establishing an open mortuary complex in the Institute for performing autopsies on putrefied and decomposed bodies. Also, the department intends to establish a Toxicological Laboratory Services & Poison Information Centre and also working on to develop a new state-of-the-art forensic medicine museum for research, training and academic purposes. We are looking for a state-of-the-art Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department at AIIMS Patna that will serve as an example to other national and international institutions.