An Autopsy Study of Fatal Thermal Burns in Married Women:  A Prospective Study

Authors

Burns, Dowry, dowry deaths, immolation, autopsy, thermal injury.

Death of a bride by immolation either self or by the in-laws and their family members is a well-known

phenomenon since many centuries in India. Even though our country is developing in all respects, but still

we are unable to prevent these deaths due to various reasons. In this study, we have made an attempt to

highlight the statistics of fatal thermal deaths in married women in one year with relation to Incidence, Age,

element of dowry and cause of death.

Results showed that Incidence of thermal deaths in married females was 75.2% with maximum victims

in the 18-22 years age group. Further it was noted that 39% of these victims were due to alleged dowry

harassment and the cause of death in majority being septic shock.