Autopsy-based evaluation of skeletonised human remains: A long-term Indian study

Skeletonized remains pose unique forensic identification challenges, particularly in resource-limited settings where concealment attempts complicate medicolegal investigation. This retrospective descriptive study analyzed 19 skeletonized autopsy cases, assessing gender/age via anthropological methods, PMI from decomposition stage, cause/manner of death from family/police/post-mortem records. Four cases (21%) revealed deliberate concealment through cremation/burial to evade detection, highlighting disposal challenges in Indian contexts. Conventional anthropological techniques proved feasible despite resource constraints, through PMI estimation remained imprecise without advanced tools. Thus, we document patterns of skeletonized cases in India, highlighting infrastructure gaps, documentation needs and the need for multidisciplinary collaboration to achieve optimal medicolegal outcomes.