Abstract / Summary
Background: Hanging is one of the most common methods of suicide and a major cause of medico-legal deaths. Careful documentation of postmortem findings is essential for accurate forensic interpretation and differentiation from other forms of neck compression. This study aimed to describe the demographic profile and postmortem characteristics of hanging deaths at a tertiary care hospital in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital, Indore, from February 2019 to January 2020. A total of 172 confirmed cases of hanging were included consecutively. Demographic details, scene characteristics, ligature material, external and internal autopsy findings, and contributory factors were recorded and analyzed descriptively. Results: Most victims were young adults aged 21–30 years (36.63%), with a male predominance (77.91%). Most incidents occurred indoors (95.93%), commonly using ceiling fans as the point of suspension (59.30%). Atypical hanging (91.86%) and complete suspension (94.19%) predominated. Dupatta was the most common ligature material (30.81%). Ligature marks were typically oblique (98.84%), interrupted (84.31%), above the thyroid cartilage (91.86%), with parchment-like change observed in 90.70% of cases. Internal neck injuries were uncommon, with hyoid and cervical vertebral fractures observed in 1.74% and 2.32% of cases, respectively. Marital disharmony and financial problems were common contributory factors for suicidal hanging among participants. Conclusion: Hanging deaths predominantly involved young adult males and commonly used readily available household ligature materials. Typical external findings were frequent, whereas internal neck injuries were rare.