Introduction

Rural Medical College came into existence in the year 1984. One and Half year later the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology started functioning. The department provides educational services to the II year undergraduate M.B.B.S. students in the subject of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology.

It is also offering MCI recognized postgraduate degree in Forensic Medicine since 1991.The Institution is recognized as a Medico-legal centre by the Ministry of Home, Government of Maharashtra.

The department provides a favorable environment for conduct of scientific research, which has beneficial practical outcomes.

Our objective is not only to provide academic, research and community services but also to exceed our client’s expectations i.e. our authorities, students, patients and law enforcement agencies.

Mission Statement

The Dept. aims at equipping the future doctors with knowledge of ‘Forensic aspects of different branches of medicine and enable them to apply the same during their practice’.

Providing world class training to the under-graduate, post graduate students & Registered Medical Practitioners on Medico-legal issues and Medical Jurisprudence with emphasis on examination of a Medico-legal case; Collection, preservation & dispatch of evidence and General & Medico-legal documentation.

Relentlessly work to generate world-class research in the subject with beneficial practical outcomes. We endeavor to develop newer techniques of examination of evidences, crime scene etc, with a broader mission to facilitate immaculate forensic examinations for the benefit of law enforcement agencies.

Utilizing the expertise and authority of our faculty and staff in the field of Forensic Medicine the Dept. provides comprehensive services to the community, through innovative programs that relate to medico-legal issues.

Goals

The Department endeavors to achieve the goal of becoming a benchmark as a quality Medico-legal and Medical Jurisprudence education and opinion provider.

To impart quality education to the Undergraduate and Postgraduate students, meeting the highest of standards in vogue.

To enable the students, who are the future healthcare providers to :

• Shoulder the responsibility of providing quality medical care to the society, without infringing the virtuous medical ethics and medical code of conduct.
• Acquire knowledge of law in relation to medical practice.
• They should also be capable of Making observations and inferring conclusions by logical deduction.
• Setting enquiries on the right track in criminal matters and associated medico-legal problems
• Facilitating the Law enforcement agencies and the Judiciary in criminal investigations and implementation of justice.

Infrastructure

The department has Academic section and Mortuary which are spread over an area of 17683 sq feet.

The department is well equipped with following teaching/learning resources:

1. Books in Dept. library: 104.
2. Journals: International- 4 National- 2
3. Laptop, CDs, LCD projector, Internet Facility, OHP slides and projector
4. Well equipped Mortuary for PM demonstrations. It is the only private medical college in Maharashtra which is permitted to conduct medico-legal autopsies.
5. Department Museum with catalogues:
   
   • Weapons- 150
   • Charts– 66
   • Models- 41
   • X rays- 50
   • Photographs- 200
   • Bone set- 6
   • Poisons- 125
   • Wax Models- 41
   • Proto-type fire and other arms -10

Laboratory Services

The Department has well equipped laboratory as per the curriculum for the Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses. In addition facilities for conducting TLC and Colour test for qualitative analysis of poisons in various samples is available for academic purpose.

Extention Activities

Assisting the Courts of law in disbursement of justice.

Providing official assistance to the police & investigating authorities in relation to visit to scene of crime

Providing continuing medic-legal orientation programs to doctors throughout the state of Maharashtra

Research

The Departmental faculty has to its credit of having accomplished successfully 17 research projects of great forensic significance, 06 of which have been published in International and 03 in National scientific journals.

Ongoing Research Projects:

• PM diagnosis with the help of Palm print
• Estimation of height using different body measurements among the Maharashtrian Population.
• Medical ethics and Medico-legal issues : Awareness amongst medical professionals at a teaching hospital
• Determination of Age in school going children in age group of 12 – 14 years based on physical and dental examination
• Medico-legal evaluation of acute poisoning cases admitted in Pravara Rural Hospital , Loni.
• Age assessment by third molar eruption stages in Maharashtra.
• Study of closure of skull vault sutures at autopsy for determination of age amongst Maharashtrian population.
• Dermatoglyphics and Blood group- A co-relational Study
• Study of pattern and percentage of physical impairment in PRH Loni

Future Plans

The department endeavors to provide the following facilities which would be a bench mark for the other institutes to follow. The vision of the department is to establish the following services in the next five years.

• Poison Information Centre
• Forensic Anthropology laboratory
• Diatom Lab
• Toxicological Garden
• Medico-legal Training and Information Centre.