Often time, while watching crime thrillers, we get to see a detailed investigation of a crime. And even if it is fiction, we wonder how it would have happened in reality. What steps would have been undertaken by the cops and the forensic team to identify the victim? Ahead of a mind-boggling crime thriller, Silence – Can You Hear It, starring Manoj Bajpayee and Prachi Desai, let us take a look at how police identify dead bodies.
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ID cards
The first and foremost thing when cops report a dead body is to try to identify it. If for anyone present on the scene, the identity of the body is not known, the next step that the cops take, is to check if there are any identity cards present with the body – whether in the pockets or a purse. This is to understand who the victim is.
Facial recognition
If there are no ID cards present, the next step is probably to circulate the picture of the dead person’s face in the nearby police stations, to check if any missing report was registered about them or if there’s any data available on him or her. If yes, the person could be identified from their records themselves.
Marks on the body and skin
Identification could also be possible if the cops can spot marks on the corpse. It could be birthmarks, scars, or tattoos. Also, the skin can help the police and the forensic team determine the age of the person.
Fingerprints
In the case of the absence of any records or reports, identifying the person by matching their fingerprints would be helpful to them. They could take a record of the person’s fingerprints and try to identify them by any present on the database. The fingerprints of a person are their unique identification factor and no other person can ever have the same set of fingerprints.
Also read: Silence: What Happened When Trekkers Discovered Pooja’s Dead Body?
Dental records
In cases where the dead body has been decomposed or is in a state where it can not be identified by either of the above records, the dental imaging of the body can prove helpful. Factors like dental implants or dental fractures and defects can be identified by the forensic team. However, this too would be possible if the person had in fact visited a dentist most recently or had their dental records taken somewhere while alive. There have been cases where dental records have proven useful for the identification of a dead body.
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DNA testing
Probably the final option for the forensic team to identify a dead body would be a DNA test. There is a method called DNA profiling, which extracts DNA to identify the unique DNA markers present on the person. These DNA markers are also unique to every person and can help to identify the dead body.
Watch the police use these skills and their prowess in solving intricate murder mysteries with the help of these factors, in Silence: Can You Hear It – coming soon on ZEE5.
Until then, watch another crime-solving series – Abhay on ZEE5.
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