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Forensic Toxicology THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE AUGUST 1997 ISSUE THE POISON SLEUTHS POISONING BY METHYL BROMIDE -Dr. Anil Aggrawal "Good morning doctor. Oh, my God, what are you doing today? Oh well, today you are examining the dead body of a young infant. What happened to him? Please tell me." "Good morning Tarun. The name of this 3 month old girl is Varsha. She is the daughter of RadheyShyam and Sita who were living in the ground floor of Mahajan's house as tenants. RadheyShyam and Sita are a young couple in their late twenties. Mahajan was living with his family on the first floor. He had been asking RadheyShyam and Sita to vacate his house for quite sometime but they refused to vacate the house. Many times Mahajan had threatened them with dire consequences, but nobody took it seriously..." "So obviously he killed Varsha to teach them a lesson?" "Don't jump to conclusions Tarun, I haven't finished yet. Yesterday, i.e. on 20 August, RadheyShyam, Sita and their daughter Varsha had gone to attend a marriage party from where they returned late in the night. On entering their house, both RadheyShyam and Sita experienced a foul smell. However, as they had experienced smell from the sewage during previous days, they took little notice of the smell. These sewage problems had resulted in maintenance work on the sewage pipes in their street just after noon on the very same day. They nourished the infant and went to bed in their room at about 10.30 pm., keeping the door open to the infant's next door room. Two hours later at 1.30 am and about 3 hours before expected, Varsha started to cry vigorously. The mother took care of the child, who vomited and had severe diarrhoea. At the same time the parents were alarmed by a "burning" sense in their eyes, throat and mouth, and they also started to vomit. They contacted a local doctor on phone but he didn't turn up. Without knowing what was happening in the house, they realized that something very wrong was going on, especially as Mahajan was threatening them with dire consequences for quite some time. They came out of their house immediately along with their child, called a Taxi and went to Sita's parents' house to spend the rest of the night. Subsequently Varsha became drowsy and unable to drink water or milk. At noon on 21st August, Sita's parents and all the other adults went to the city's hospital arriving there at about 1 pm. But unfortunately she was declared dead on arrival." "Oh, that's indeed very sad and depressing. So what do you think was going on in the house?" "Tarun, the whole scenario and symptoms of the three persons involved point very strongly in favor of one poison- methyl bromide." "What? Methyl Bromide? Doesn't sound like a common poison to me. Please tell me more about it." "Sure Tarun. Methyl Bromide surely is not commonly known, but it is indeed a very interesting poison. Methyl Bromide (CH3Br) is also known as bromomethane, monobromomethane, Embafume or iscobrome. Pure methyl bromide is a colorless gas that is heavier than air. Thus it is one of those rare poisons which occur as gases. Odorless and tasteless in low concentrations, it has a musty, acrid smell in high concentrations. That's why RadheyShyam and Sita noticed that strange smell on coming back from the marriage party." "Doctor, who in the world uses methyl bromide, and why?" "Tarun, Methyl Bromide is in relatively widespread industrial use as a fumigant and insecticide because of its effective penetrating power and absence of fire or explosion hazard. Occupational exposure to it also occurs frequently. Nobody knows about Indian figures, but it is estimated that about 75,000 American workers are occupationally exposed to this gas annually. Its toxicity is severe and despite safeguards, cases of acute and chronic intoxication occur, chiefly in fruit and tobacco industries, because of its use in these industries as a fumigant and an insecticide. It has also been used as a refrigerant, solvent, methylating agent, and in dyes and fire extinguishers." "Quite interesting. How can poisoning occur due to this gas?" "Tarun, toxic exposure to this gas can occur by inhalation as in the case of Varsha or by skin absorption. Body tries to excrete this poison out of the system. Excretion takes place mainly through the lungs. The remainder is metabolized in the body, and inorganic bromine is excreted in the urine. In European countries cases of accidental poisoning due to fumigation of houses are quite well-known." "But at the time of fumigation, the houses are vacated. How can one possibly get poisoned?" "Yes, you are right Tarun, yet poisoning has occurred in sinister ways. In many European countries, the houses are made up of wood, and the European house-bores (Hylotrunes bajulus) occasionally invade old wooden houses. To kill these house-bores methyl bromide is often used for fumigation, and as you rightly say, the houses are indeed vacated for fumigation. But cases are known in which the gas has entered the sewage pipes of the fumigated house (which of course had been vacated) and from there it travelled to the main sewage pipe. From there it gained access to the adjacent houses or even to houses at quite some distance. Of course, it can occur only if the houses in question don't have the water-locks that are now obligatory in all sewage pipes. Now you must be able to understand why you have water-locks in the sewer pipes of the places where you relieve yourself. If these water-locks were not made obligatory, gases from the adjacent houses, or even from the main sewer could easily enter one's house." "Quite interesting. Have people died in such a way?" "Yes, I am personally aware of persons dying in such exotic manner. These cases are frequently reported in learned journals too." "Doctor, how does methyl bromide kill a person? Since bromine itself is a poison, I would tend to believe that the bromide ion in the methyl bromide molecule does the damage." "Tarun, it would indeed appear so, but it is not true. I will give you certain figures which will make things very clear in your mind. Normal bromide levels in adults are about 0.3-0.4 mg/dL and come primarily from bromide residues in fumigated foodstuffs. If one ingests an inorganic bromide, such as sodium or potassium bromide then he does die of bromine toxicity. Technically we know it as bromism. In the case of a fatality due to inorganic bromide ingestion, the blood levels of bromine are quite high- almost 300 mg/dl, which as you can see are almost 1000 times the normal level. Levels lower than this produce serious toxicity but not death. For instance levels of 100 mg/dl produce toxic symptoms and level of 200 mg/dL produce serious toxicity. But in the case of methyl bromide intoxication, which is an organic bromide, death may occur when the bromine levels of the blood are as low as 8-9 mg/dL. This clearly means that bromide ion is not responsible for the death in the case of methyl bromide intoxication." "Then what is the cause of death in these cases?" "Tarun many important enzymes in our body contain important entities called Sulfhydryl groups. These groups can chemically be represented as "-SH". Methyl bromide releases methyl ions in the body, which combine with these sulfhydryl groups and make the enzymes ineffective. This is technically known as methylation of the sulfhydryl groups. Enzymes in the central nervous system seem particularly prone to this destruction. That is why a patient suffering from methyl bromide poisoning displays neurological symptoms quite prominently. Major manifestations are vomiting, headache, vertigo, gait disturbances, double vision, delirium and seizures. All the three persons in question have displayed several of these symptoms. Since methyl bromide affects the brain in a major way, in cases of death, the main changes are observed in the brain. The brain is water-logged and swollen, which we term as edema of the brain. The coverings of the brain, or the meninges are red and there may be hemorrhages under them. Loss of neurons have also been seen at times." "Did you see these changes in the body of Varsha?" "Yes, Indeed I did. But the most interesting finding was the bromine levels in her blood which are almost 17 mg/dL. As you know this is much above the normal limit and does indicate that she was exposed to methyl bromide." "Then surely Mahajan has done the trick. But how did he introduce the gas in RadheyShyam's house?" "Mahajan was asking RadheyShyam and his family to vacate his house for quite some time, but they were not doing so, so he decided to finish them off in a very clever and sinister manner. I must admit that I have never heard of such an exotic method to kill an entire family. In fact, he would have easily got away with the murders, had the police not decided to contact me..." "Doctor, I am getting curious. How did he do it?" "He contacted an insecticide company and bought a cylinder of Methyl Bromide gas on the pretext that he wanted to fumigate his crops. From the cylinder he connected a pipe and inserted the other end of the pipe into the chimney which leads to the kitchen on the ground floor. Since the top of the chimney is on the barsati above the first floor, where Mahajan was living, it was accessible to him. After making this elaborate arrangement, he opened the valve of the cylinder releasing the gas in the chimney. The gas being heavier than air, quickly "dropped down" into the kitchen and from there it seeped into the entire ground floor. When RadheyShyam and his family entered their house after attending their party, Mahajan had literally converted their place into a gas chamber! RadheyShyam showed presence of mind and left the house quickly with his family, otherwise even he and his wife would have died. I have asked the police personnel to look specifically for a gas cylinder in Mahajan's house. Oh here comes the police inspector... What! you did find the methyl bromide cylinder in his house. Look Tarun, I was right. My investigation has indeed worked. The police can now successfully prosecute Mahajan." "Fantastic! And many thanks for letting me know about such an interesting poison. You indeed are a great poison sleuth. What are you going to tell me next time?" "Tarun, next time I shall tell you about ratti seeds, which as you shall see is another important poison. This is a vegetable poison, as you shall see. "

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Forensic Toxicology THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE SEPTEMBER 1999 ISSUE THE POISON SLEUTHS DEATH BY YELLOW KANER -Dr. Anil Aggrawal "Good morning doctor. Oh, my God, what are you doing today? You have the dead body of a very young girl today. What happened to her? Please tell me.” “Good morning Tarun. The name of this six year old girl is Radha. Her father is a Secretary to the Government of India, and fairly well-to-do person. He had only one child. Yesterday she was playing along with her friends under a tree in a park near her house. The time was around 4 pm. There were about 5-6 other boys and girls with her. They were apparently fine when they were playing. Suddenly Radha started vomiting. She had diarrhoea too. She was rushed to the hospital, where the doctors thought she was having gastro-enteritis, and she was being treated along those lines. The doctors also noted some additional symptoms. I have talked to the doctors who treated her. And they say that they noted clamminess of skin, coldness in extremities, dilation of pupils, sunken eyes and delirium. The pulse was slow and feeble in the beginning, but later it became fast and irregular. After a few hours she had convulsions, then paralysis, and finally death. She died at about 8 am in the morning today." "Oh, that is most terrible doctor? Why do you think she died? Did she die of any natural disease? Or did she die of infections such as gastro-enteritis?" "Tarun, it doesn't look like natural death to me. The symptoms are pointing towards a poison which affected her heart. So probably we are talking about some heart poison here. I have gone to the place where she was playing, and I was surprised to see that there were lot of Yellow Kaner plants in the garden where she was playing. These plants are known to botanists as Cerbera thevetia or Thevetia peruviana. In normal everyday parlance, they are known as Pila kaner or be-still tree. I am inclined to believe that either she took the seeds of that plant by mistake, or somebody gave it to her on purpose.” “That’s most preposterous. I have seen Kaner plants growing along the roads, but I never believed it was such a dangerous poison” “Oh, sure they are poisonous. The yellow oleander or be-still tree is a native of tropical America and is now widely cultivated as an ornamental shrub in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, including India. It is a small shrub with milky sap. Leaves are evergreen, alternate, ribbon like, about 6 inches long, 3/16 to 3/8 inch wide, dark and glossy above and pale beneath. Flowers are more or less fragrant, funnel form, yellow or peach-colored, rarely white, 2 to 3 inches long and to 2 inches wide, the five lobes spirally twisted and not spreading. Fruit is somewhat diamond-shaped -distinctly so in cross section. It is about one and half inches wide and 5/8 inch thick. It turns from green to yellow; then the thin layer of flesh becomes completely dehydrated, the skin becomes black and wrinkled and disintegrates, exposing the bony, light brown, attractive stone, which contains two to four flat gray seeds. The sap of the plant may cause skin inflammation in sensitive individuals. Chewing the bark or seed kernel causes a slight numbing sensation and a feeling of heat in the mouth, and purging. Ingestion of a toxic dose causes burning in the mouth, tingling of the tongue, dryness of the throat, headache, vomiting, purging, excitement followed by drowsiness.” “Sounds like a very dangerous plant to me. Are all parts of the plant poisonous? Also please tell me, which poisons are found in this plant?” “Except for the thin layer of flesh covering the stone, all parts of the plant are poisonous, especially the seeds, which contain 3.6 to 4 per cent of the cardiac glycoside thevetin. This toxin is one eighth as potent as ouabain and very similar to digitalis in activity, about which we have talked last time. Also present are thevetoxin (C30H46O10), similar to but less toxic than thevetin; neriifolin (C33H61O30) more potent than thevetin in action on cat heart; peruvoside (C30H44010); and also ruvoside (C30H46010). There has also been reported a bitter principle that acts on the central nervous system and produces tetanoid convulsions.” “Doctor, how much portion of the plant can cause death in a human being?” “Nothing is positively known about the fatal dose in human beings, although experiments have been done on animals. Fifteen to twenty grams of dry leaves are fatal to the horse; lesser amounts are fatal to cattle. Since such fatal experiments can not be conducted on human beings, our knowledge of the fatal dose of Cerbera thevetia depends upon actual cases of death which have occurred following its ingestion. A single seed has caused death in a child; 8 to 10 seeds in an adult. About 5-10 leaves of the plant are also said to be fatal. The root is very poisonous.” “Oh, I see.” “Tarun, this plant is a very popular ornamental in warm regions of both hemispheres, especially in dry coastal areas because of its resistance to drought and salinity and because it is not eaten by goats and cattle. It is often planted in numbers as a hedge. Grazing animals instinctively avoid this plant, and that is why this is a very popular plant as a hedge in India. Besides India, it is also found in other parts of the world. It is occasionally seen in the southern half of Florida and California, is very common in the West Indies, Latin America, Africa, and the Orient. In the Hawaiian Islands it has been declining in popularity with the realization that it is the most frequent local cause of human poisoning. The fruit flesh is eagerly consumed by chickens and is casually eaten by humans in Ghana and Queensland. The handsome stones, after polishing, are worn as pendants, tied together as rattles, or strung with other seeds in necklaces. Many myths and legends are associated with this plant. In the West Indies, the stone is carried in the pocket in the belief that it will ward off hemorrhoids. In East Africa, it is put in the hand of an infant at birth as a good luck token. Quantities of the seeds have been exported from Hawaii to the mainland of the United States for extraction of thevetin as a substitute for digitalis, but 40 per cent of the patients receiving this drug have suffered gastrointestinal disturbances. Indian scientists believe the more recently discovered peruvoside holds greater promise in cardiac therapy. In Africa, the seed kernels are occasionally chewed to cause purging. In the Philippines, half of one leaf is given as an emetic and purgative. The sap and bark have been utilized in small amounts to treat malarial fever as well as to induce vomiting and purging, but overdoses have caused paralysis and death. The sap has been applied to sores and ulcers, also to tooth cavities and decayed teeth to relieve toothache. It is said to cause the teeth to disintegrate. In Brazil, the seed is taken as an abortifacient. In Indonesia, immigrants from India have been seen to dry and smoke the leaves. The toxicity of the plant has been generally known since the sixteenth century. Its Sanskrit name "Ashwamarak" is translated as "horse killer. Early European explorers in tropical America reported that the Indians used the seed for homicidal purposes. In India, the seeds are commonly employed for suicide and homicide, and in Bombay they are used for killing cattle. They have poisoned pigs in Queensland.” “Looks like a very interesting plant to me. Have there been cases of poisoning with this plant before?” “Several cases of Yellow Kaner poisoning have been recorded in India. In 1900, a woman in India took two seeds in a suicide attempt. The following day, she experienced vomiting, purging, pain in the throat, headache, and fainting spells alternating with drowsiness. Her pupils were normal; heart action was weak and pulse slow. She recovered after three days of treatment. In November 1962, a four-year-old boy in Poona, India, swallowed a seed at 6 P.M., vomited 15 to 20 times, was hospitalized, was found very restless, with sunken eyes but normal pupils, dry tongue, and cold extremities. An electrocardiogram showed severe abnormalities. The following morning diarrhea occurred; on the second day the pulse became irregular, and it remained so for 36 hours. Treatment was continued for eight days; then the child was discharged with normal pulse and heart action. Some interesting cases have come from Queensland, Australia. In one case, a 3-year-old girl played "tea parties" under a yellow oleander tree in her backyard. She later developed persistent vomiting, sweating and bradycardia. Cardiac arrest occurred during her transfer to hospital and she could not be resuscitated. Another young girl was "dared" by her brother to eat the fruit of the yellow oleander. She did, and later developed severe vomiting and a variety of cardiac arrhythmias which persisted for three days before she recovered. In southwest Africa, two European children were poisoned by eating the seeds, and one died in six hours. In Southern Rhodesia, a death occurred two hours after ingestion of one seed." "Looks like this plant has really caused deaths! In this case doctor, how are you going to prove to the court of law that this child died of Cerbera thevetia poisoning?" "Tarun, I have examined her stomach, and have found remains of some leaves which look very much like Cerbera thevetia leaves. This is a very strong indication that she was given the leaves of Yellow Oleander to eat. I did not stop at that. I examined the extracts of her heart muscle and it demonstrated the presence of poisons found in Thevetia leaves or fruit. This is ample proof for any court of law to assume that Radha died of Yellow oleander poisoning. Actually when I saw Kaner plants growing in the garden nearby, I got suspicious. I thought that there might be some foul play involved in this. I found out that the father of this girl, one Mr. Sharma, had sacked one of his juniors Katkar about a year before, and since then Katkar held a grudge against Mr. Sharma. I may tell you that Katkar was a fairly intelligent man, and in his college, he had studied botany and chemistry with keen interest. Apparently he was aware of the poisonous nature of the Cerbera thevetia plant. He wanted to get even with Mr. Sharma very keenly. He had observed that there were Cerbera thevetia plants in the nearby garden, and that Mr. Sharma's only child Radha used to play there. On that fateful day, he came to the child and somehow coaxed her to chew those leaves. I really don't know what he told to the child, but her friends who were playing at a short distance away are saying that they did see Katkar talking to Radha, and Radha subsequently chewing the leaves of Kaner plant. You might think that it is very silly for a child to listen to such strangers, but you must keep in mind that a six year child does not have much judgement of her own. She apparently chewed some leaves on Katkar's insistence and that was the cause of her death. Come, let us tell the police to catch Katkar, because it is he who is responsible for her death. "That was very clever of you doctor. Without your clever deduction everybody would have thought Radha died of some mysterious natural disease. This was a most interesting discussion doctor. Tell me what are you going to tell me the next time?" "Tarun, next time, I would tell you about a very interesting poison. You would normally think it to be a vitamin, essential for growth, but it is a very dangerous poison too. I will talk about Vitamin A next time."

SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION-11 WHAT DO THE BONES TELL US ? Two years back, I was called to a village near Alwar to solve a very bizarre case. While some digging was going on for a construction purpose, a laborer unearthed several bones. He immediately ran to his contractor and showed him the bones. The contractor contacted the police and the police in turn contacted me. That is how I came into the picture. While I was going through the police records of the area, I realized that about 2 years back a 22‑year‑old boy was reported missing from that village. His name was Suresh. There was a widely held rumor that Suresh had run away from his house in search of a proper job. It was common view that he was quite dissatisfied with his parents and wanted to live away in an independent manner. So, when, one day Suresh was not found in his home, everyone in the village assumed that he had run away from home. Suresh's parents however were not ready to admit that he had run away. They constantly maintained that he had fallen in the hands of some criminal who had killed him and had buried him somewhere. The real story was deeper than this. Actually, before Suresh's disappearance, nobody could even think about it. Suresh was in love with a local belle Geeta. She was the daughter of a rich money‑lender of the village, Karan Singh. Karan Singh had repeatedly warned Suresh not to meet Geeta but, since his own daughter was secretly in love with Suresh, he couldn't stop their meetings. Once he had openly sworn to kill them both, if they met again. About a month after Suresh's disappearance, Geeta was found missing from her house too. The story took a new turn now. Was Geeta secretly kidnapped by Suresh? Were Suresh and Geeta separately kidnapped and murdered by Karan Singh's goons? Or, was their disappearance totally unrelated to each other? Nobody knew what indeed had happened. To be sure, Geeta was extremely beautiful and she could very well have fallen in the hands of a rapist and murderer. But, how to know what had really happened. Nobody even was sure that Suresh and Geeta had been killed. When I examined the bones preliminary, I found two skulls among the bones, so it was sure that I was dealing with a least two dead people. But, I had to prove that out of them one skull was a male and the other, a female. Only then, could we prove that Karan Singh had indeed got Suresh and Geeta murdered. Not only that I had to prove that out of other bones too, half belonged to a male and half to a female. This was challenging task, but I decided to undertake it. How do we find out sex of the victim from the bones? Many times I have been asked this question by the police officers and public. In this case, I am going to provide you with my well kept secrets. Many sexual differences are found in the skull. Look at fig.1, carefully, which shows two skulls‑ one of a male and the other a female one. The upper one is male skull, while the lower one is a female. There are several ways in which we can say that a given skull is male or a female. One is to look at the bone just beneath the eyebrows. This is technically known as SUPRA ORBITAL RIDGE . It is much more prominent in a male skull than in a female skull (shown in the figure by arrows). Further when you see the angulation between the forehead and the nose, you find that in a male skull, this angulation is very prominent. The bone behind the ear is known as MASTOID PROCESS . This is larger, round and blunt in a male skull and smaller, smoother and pointed in a female skull. This point is also shown in the figure by arrows. There are several other differences in the skulls, but these three are very prominent in the given diagram and I generally infer the sex from these 3 points. Let us now come to the jaw technically known as MANDIBLE. The jaw bone above is of male, while the jaw bone below is of female. The jaw bone is squarer in the males while it is much more rounded in the females Fig 2. Hip bone shows the maximum differences between the two sexes. There are two hip bones in each individual. If you stand with your arms akimbo, your palms are over the hip bones. These hip bones unite with the back bone(SACRUM) and from a circular jug like structure known technically as PELVIS. Nature has made pelvis much wider in women because , women have to bear children. The babies, while they are within the bomb, remain enclosed by pelvis. If nature had made pelvis narrower in females, babies would find it very difficult to come out of womb at the time of delivery. It is the wide pelvis, which gives the females their characteristic waddling gait. We make use of this fact in determining, whether a given hip bone is of a male or of a female. Look at Fig.3, it shows 2 hip bones. The upper one is a male hip bone, while the lower one is a female. The angulation of the bone is more in male as shown in the diagram. There is a notch in the hip bone which is known as GREATER SCIATIC NOTCH . This notch is shown in Fig 4. This notch is more acute in the male and much wider in the female(as shown). The backbone or sacrum is shown in Fig 5. Sacrum is narrower in the male. You can guess that the sacrum on the left is a male one. Feeling like a detective already? Well, let's go on. There are differences in arm bones and thigh bones. The rounded projection, which you are seeing fits into the shoulder. This rounded projection is noticeably larger in the male. Yes, you are right; the bone on the left is a male one. Finally look at fig 7, it shows the thigh bones. The lower position fits into the knee joint. If we stand, the thigh bone erect on the table, then the male thigh bone known technically as FEMUR , makes a greater angulation than the female thigh bone. In the given figure, the bone on the left shows an angle of 80 0 and the bone on the right shows an angle of 76 0 , so obviously the left bone belongs to a male. Using these criteria, I could prove that there were in fact two sets of bones‑ one belonging to a male and the other to female. Armed with this knowledge, police raided the house of Karan Singh and took him into custody for interrogation, In the beginning he denied of knowing anything, but later broke under pressure. He admitted to having killed both of them when he realized that Geeta had becomes pregnant. The court gave him rigorous imprisonment for life. By reading this account you must yourself be feeling like a detective already. If you like, you may preserve these issues of 'Crime & Detective'. Who knows, one day you might turn out to be a great detective and help the police.

Forensic Toxicology THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE SEPTEMBER 1997 ISSUE THE POISON SLEUTHS POISONING BY RATTI SEEDS -Dr. Anil Aggrawal "Good morning doctor. Oh, my God, what are you doing today? Oh well, today you are examining the dead body of a young man. Oh, my God, what happened to him? He has a nasty looking puncture mark on his neck" "Good morning Tarun. The name of this farmer is Mahesh Lodi, and he is 25 years old. He has died in the most intriguing circumstances. About 6 days back, his neighbor Kiran visited him at about 10 in the morning, and demanded that he (Mahesh) should stop meeting his sister Geeta, with whom he was having a regular affair. Reportedly Mahesh refused to do this, as he was in deep love with her. Seeing that Mahesh was quite adamant, Kiran changed his stance and became suddenly soft. Apparently he wanted to leave his house, but before leaving, he asked Mahesh that he wanted to go to the bathroom to relieve himself. Mahesh who was quite relieved by Kiran's changed stance, happily showed him the way." "And so the matter was resolved there and then" "Not in the least Tarun. Actually Kiran and his family members had implored Mahesh on this count several times in the past too, because they wanted to marry her in a different family of their own caste, but Mahesh had refused point blank to stop meeting her. Reportedly even Geeta was adamant about this relationship, and that's why they wanted to pressurize Mahesh. This time, Kiran had come to settle this issue once and for all. After coming back from the bathroom, Kiran changed his stance once again, and began abusing Mahesh. Mahesh was completely taken aback by this renewed hostility. A physical tussle ensued between the two. During the tussle, there was naturally a liberal exchange of slaps and blows. During one such blow on the back of his neck, Mahesh felt as if something very sharp had stung him, but as he had a tough fight on his hands, he had to take care of Kiran first. Soon after he was able to push Kiran out of his house. After Kiran left the house, Mahesh tried to feel the area on the back of his neck where he had felt the sting, but as the area was behind his back, he could not examine it minutely and soon forgot about it. As he was feeling quite exhausted after the tussle, he went to the kitchen and drank a glass of water from the jug. Soon after, Mahesh started feeling unwell. The next day he had a nauseating feeling and vomited a few times. He contacted a doctor, who found that his pulse was rapid, and he was running a mild temperature. Thinking that he was probably running viral fever, he prescribed some fever lowering drugs (antipyretics) and pain killers (analgesics). But apparently there wasn't much relief. Day before yesterday, his condition worsened. He started feeling much weaker. He had diarrhoea too, and reportedly passed blood in his stools. He contacted his doctor again, who noted a peculiar puncture mark on the back of his neck, which was inflamed, which as you know means that it was looking angry red. Taking it to be a mosquito bite, he preferred to ignore it, although Mahesh was complaining of itching and local discomfort there. The doctor also noted that he had a weak but rapid pulse, cold perspiration and trembling of hands. He advised him to contact a City Hospital. But before he could arrange to go to the City Hospital, Mahesh collapsed and died. The doctor refused to give a death certificate, as he couldn't ascertain the cause of his death. So the police seized his body, and has brought it to me for post-mortem examination, so that I could tell them the cause of his death" "Very interesting indeed! It appears that Mahesh started having his symptoms only after he had a physical tussle with Kiran. The symptoms indicate that he was probably poisoned, but Kiran did not give him anything to eat. It could be that he surreptitiously mixed some poison in his water or food, before he left his house." "I can't deny this possibility, except for the fact that it is very unlikely. Kiran indeed went to the bathroom just before the fight, and it is indeed possible that instead of going to the bathroom, he went to the kitchen and mixed some poison in the water or food. But if he had done that, it was much safer for him to leave immediately after coming back from the "bathroom". Why would he unnecessarily pick up the fight?" "That indeed makes sense? Then why did he go to the bathroom? Do you sincerely think that he wanted to relieve himself?" "Doesn't seem very likely, especially considering the fact that immediately after coming from the bathroom, he changed his stance once again. I would rather say that he did go to the bathroom, but for a different purpose." "And what was that?" "To fix a poisonous needle between his fingers. These poisonous needles were probably lying in his pocket. When he went to the bathroom, he fixed one such needle between his fingers. That's why when he struck a blow on the back of Mahesh's neck, it was felt by him as a sting. In fact, with that blow, he had inserted the needle in the flesh of his neck" "Sounds quite interesting to me. But what poison could it be? "Tarun, I have dissected the area of the back of the neck, and I indeed have extricated this needle. Look, here it is." "Oh indeed, but it is not a metallic needle. Looks rather like a thorn to me" "Yes, indeed it is not a metallic needle. It is called sui or sutari in vernacular, and is made from a poisonous plant known as ratti in local language. Botanically this plant is known as Abrus precatorius." Ratti ( Abrus precatorius ) seeds "Oh, so it is a thorn from this plant?" "No, it is not a thorn of this plant. It is made after quite a painstaking effort. But before I dwell on this subject further, let me tell you a little bit more about this plant, so you can follow me more intelligently." "Please go ahead doctor. I am all ears" "Let us begin with the name of the plant, which itself tells us a lot. The name of the genus is Abrus which means graceful. It actually refers to the plant's beautiful flowers. The term precatorius is derived from precor, which means "to pray" because the seeds are often used as ornamental beans in rosaries meant for prayers. Several ornamental souvenirs are also made from these seeds. The plant is commonly known as Ratti or Gunchi in India. You might recall that ancient Indian weights and measures included tola, masha and ratti. This ratti referred to the weight of a single ratti seed. This seed was chosen as a standard weight in ancient Indian system, because its seed is fairly constant in weight; on an average, it weighs about 105 mg." "That is most interesting indeed." "There are more interesting facts related to this plant. The seed is known by several names, some of the more common ones are Rosary pea, because it is frequently used in rosaries - garlands meant for worship. For the same reason, it is also known as Buddhist's rosary bead or prayer bead. It has some other interesting names too. Some of these are Jequirity bean, Indian bean, Crab's eyes, Black-Eyed Susan and Indian Licorice. Licorice or liquorice is actually a European leguminous plant, known botanically as Glycyrrhiza glabra. The sweet tasting dried root of this plant, or an extract made from it, is used in medicine or as flavoring in confectioneries. Since the roots of abrus plant are also sweet tasting, the Europeans have named it Indian licorice. The plant is native to tropical Asia, especially India. It however grows in most warm, humid climates all over the world such as in the Caribbean islands and Florida. All parts of the plant are toxic, but the seeds contain the highest concentration of toxins." "What does this plant look like doctor? Can we identify it easily?" "Of course you can. It is a tender, twining plant which is woody at the base. The leaves are compound, featherlike, with 10 to 15 pairs of narrow leaflets 1/2 to 1 inch long. Flowers are pealike, 3/8 inch long, purple pink, yellowish or whitish. Seed pod is much like the pod of the ordinary edible pea; it is 1-2 inches long, borne in clusters, green when immature, becoming brown and dry, splitting open, and remaining on vine with seeds displayed. Seeds are quite attractive, and it is for this reason, that they are used for ornamental purposes. They are usually vivid scarlet with black spot at base. Some may be white with a black spot, others may be all white, or all black, yellow or even blue. In one pod there are about 4-6 seeds. The seed is oval or round, with a diameter of about quarter of an inch. It is pale and soft when immature, but hard, dry and glossy when ripe. "What poison do the seeds contain doctor?" "The seeds contain the deadly poison abrin, which is mainly responsible for the toxicity of this plant. It contains some other toxic substances too, but abrin is most dangerous. The sweet taste of the root is due to glycyrrhizin." "Doctor, you told me about Kiran using a sui to kill Mahesh. And you also told me that this sui is made in a very complicated way. Can you tell me more about it? And why can't one just mix the seeds in some food? What is the necessity of this complicated step of making needles out of this plant?" "Tarun, you have asked several interesting questions in one go. Let me explain them one by one. The seeds are about 100 times less poisonous when taken by mouth than when injected directly in the system. That is why killers prefer to make needles and inject them directly. The needles are made in quite an interesting way. The seeds are first decorticated i.e. their outer covering is removed. The decorticated seeds are powdered and then usually mixed with datura, opium, onion or powdered glass...." "Sorry to interrupt you doctor, but you have used several terms. What are datura and opium?" "They are also different poisons Tarun. We shall discuss them in some detail in our later meetings. For the time being you can remember that these are just some poisons which are used in this method. To be sure, their use is not an absolute necessity, as ratti seeds by themselves are quite poisonous, but apparently the killers want to leave no stone unturned!" "Wow! The killers are methodical too." "Certainly, why not. Well, the powder is then made into a paste with spirit and water, and long needles are fashioned out of this paste. The needles are about 1.5 cm in length - about the length of your thumbnail- and weigh about 100 mg on an average. These needles are then dried in the sun. When dry, they are known as suis or sutaris and are ready for use. As you know the name sui refers to a needle in Hindi. I have already told you how the killer uses these needles for killing. He may hold one or two such suis in his palm between his closely held fingers (the way one holds a cigarette; only much more tightly). The victim is then slapped in such a way that the suis penetrate the flesh. The effect is similar to giving an injection of abrin to the victim, and is thus obviously quite effective. You might be surprised to know that even animals are killed by this method. Almost the same method is used to kill animals too. Animals are usually killed for revenge. To take the revenge from an enemy, it is usual for a villager to kill his cattle! Animals may also be killed to prepare hides. The only difference in the method of killing is that in this case, the suis are attached to a wooden handle and the handle is then struck forcefully on the animal's buttocks. The needles find their way deep in the animal's flesh, from where the active ingredients slowly ooze out into the system, and the animal dies over a period of 3-4 days. The advantage of using this method, is that the injection marks of these suis look quite like viper bite (the necrosis around the marks is quite similar to that), and the owner of the cattle believes that his cattle were unfortunately bitten by the viper. Any chance of counter-revenge is thus averted. A clever killer may so arrange the distance between the two suis on a handle, as to completely mimic the distance between the two fangs of a viper!" "Oh, how very ingenious. I only wish killers could use their ingenuity for constructive purposes." "You can say that again Tarun. I sent the needle recovered from Mahesh's neck for chemical analysis, and it is found to contain high amounts of abrin. That proves my contention that Kiran indeed used the sui to kill Mahesh. I alerted the police to catch Kiran who would probably have gone scot free, but for this post-mortem examination. The police raided his house and have recovered lot of ratti seeds and some suis from his possession. In fact several ratti plants were growing in the backyard of his house. Subsequently the police questioned him. Initially he kept denying his involvement, but when faced with autopsy findings, he broke down and admitted his guilt. According to him, going to toilet was actually an excuse for fixing the needles in his palms. When Mahesh had refused to agree to his request, he had immediately made up his mind to kill him. In fact when he started out from home, he had kept this option in his mind, and for that reason, he had kept a handful of ratti needles in his pocket." "Fantastic! That indeed is a most outrageous poison solved in a most ingenious way. You indeed are a great poison sleuth. What are you going to tell me next time?" "Tarun, next time I shall tell you about a very deadly poison- Thallium. "

Forensic Jokes, Puns & Tidbits Forensic Puns 1. A tourist in Vienna is going through a graveyard and all of a sudden he hears some music. No one is around, so he starts searching for the source. He finally locates the origin and finds it is coming from a grave with a headstone that reads: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827. Then he realizes that the music is the Ninth Symphony and it is being played backward! Puzzled, he leaves the graveyard and persuades a friend to return with him. By the time they arrive back at the grave, the music has changed. This time it is the Seventh Symphony, but like the previous piece, it is being played backward. Curious, the men agree to consult a music scholar. When they return with the expert, the Fifth Symphony is playing, again backward. The expert notices that the symphonies are being played in the reverse order in which they were composed, the 9th, then the 7th, then the 5th. By the next day the word has spread and a throng has gathered around the grave. They are all listening to the Second Symphony being played backward. Just then, the graveyard's caretaker ambles up to the group. Someone in the group asks him if he has an explanation for the music. "Don't you get it?" the caretaker asks incredulously. [Guess now, before scrolling down] No cheating, make a guess before scrolling. Not even a wild guess before scrolling? He's decomposing.* 2. I was standing in line at an airport to check in for a flight. For 15 minutes, the queue hardly moved, and patience was wearing thin. Suddenly an irate voice from the back demanded to know what the holdup was. A voice from the front replied,"I'm afraid Riga mortis has set in." (Contributed by Chris Bane. Published in Readers' Digest December 1999 page 32) 3. Is it correct to say that all Forensic Personnel are in a grave situation?

Forensic Toxicology THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE JANUARY 1997 ISSUE THE POISON SLEUTHS POISONS, ANTIDOTES AND ANECDOTES -Dr. Anil Aggrawal "Good morning doctor. I have heard a lot about poisons, and unscrupulous criminals killing innocent people with poisons. Could you tell me a little bit about it?" "Good morning Tarun. Sure I would tell you about them. Poisons of various descriptions were commonly used in ancient times by unscrupulous people to kill their enemies. Even today, mere mention of the word poisoning is enough to conjure up in the minds of most people ideas of diabolical infamy. No doubt this is due to what they have read about the subject in history. Numerous killers in the past set out to achieve their evil designs by using poison to dispose of those who stood in their way. The records over the ages are replete with accounts of this kind. By its very nature, poison is premeditated and secret- the real horror lies not so much in those poisonings that are discovered but in those which remain undetected." "Should be exciting to know about such an interesting thing. But first, would you tell me what you call this science?" "Tarun, the study of poisons in all its aspects is known as toxicology. You would be surprised to know that this word has an unusual origin. It comes from the Greek word toxon which means a bow for shooting arrows. The word toxeuma meant an arrow. Since in ancient times, poisons were often used on the tips of arrows to render them more lethal, the word toxicos came to refer to such a poison. From this we get the word toxicology. Of course you would be knowing that the Greek word logos means "the study of" or "the science of". If you combine the two words, you would understand the proper meaning of the word toxicology." "That is certainly interesting doctor. I do recall now that another term for archery is toxophily. So that explains the origin of this other entirely non-related term too." "Sure Tarun. Greek philos means "love of". So the term toxophily literally means "love of arrows". A person who loves archery is often known as a toxophilite. I may tell you that in the year 1545 A.D. a man called Roger Asham published a book called Toxophilus. The intended meaning of the title was “lover of the bow”. Since then the word toxophilite has come to be associated with archers. Another term for poison is toxin, which also has the same origin. Of course, in modern times, we use this word more often in connection with bacterial poisons." “And what is the origin of the word “poison” doctor?” “The origin of this term is also quite unusual. The word comes from Old French puison, which means ‘drink’. The French word itself comes from Latin potio, which has the same meaning. The word drink came to be associated with poison in a very interesting way. Many times in the past, the poison was mixed with drinks. In English, the French word puison entered as poison. This term was initially applied to a drink prepared with a poison. Later, the poisonous substance itself came to be known as poison.” "Good. Doctor, could you please tell me why poisons are so much important in the annals of crime and crime detection?" "Tarun, poison has been called "the coward's weapon". It is administered unemotionally and by stealth, often little by little over a long period, and in full recognition of the victim's often prolonged suffering. Special hatred attaches to the poisoner, who is regarded as more sinister than the gunman or knife-user. The poisoner is thus reviled for his lack of pity. He often kills his victim in cold blood, unlike a gunman who often kills in the heat of the moment. A poisoner carefully plans for the murder, and he knows exactly what he is going to do, and what the result of his deeds would be. It is commonly supposed that female murderers resort more readily to poison and get away with it more readily than their male counterparts. This prejudice probably arises because of the activities of such celebrated historic poisoners as the Marquise de Brinvilliers (1630 - 1676) and Mary Ann Cotton (1833 - 1873), whose murderous ways probably accounted for a collective total of well over a hundred lives. Mary Ann Cotton, thrice married former nurse is regarded as Britain's greatest mass murderer...." "You mean to say that these women killed as many as 100 people among them? That certainly is outrageous." "I haven't finished yet Tarun. An Italian woman of the 17th Century, Madame Giulia Toffana (ca. 1635-1719), invented a strong poisonous mixture in about 1690, and is reputed to have been responsible for as many as 600 killings! She is perhaps the greatest poisoner of all time. Her invention was called Agua Toffana, also sometimes referred to as Aqua Toffana, Aquetta di Napoli, Manna of St. Nicholas di Bari, or Elixir of St. Nicholas of Bari, Bari being a town whose water had healing qualities. Aqua Toffana literally means "the water of Toffana". It was a poisonous liquid containing the deadly arsenic. She sold it to the would-be-murderers who paid well for it and were instructed about its poisonous properties and its potential as a lethal weapon. She was executed at Naples in 1719. After her death Heironyma Spara of Rome imitated and perfected her art. She was a sorceress and fortune-teller by profession, but trained young housewives in the art of poisoning too. Sixty years before Toffana's execution - in 1659, she is said to have formed a society in which she taught women how to murder their husbands by means of poisons. Her influence increased as a number of bored wealthy housewives gathered around her. She was eventually arrested by the Papal police, and as was the custom in those times with poisoners, tortured on the rack. She refused to confess. Nevertheless she was hanged along with a dozen other women, suspected to have been her aides. "Even kings and queens did not refrain from giving poisons. Poisons were given not only to their rivals but also to the poor deliberately just to study their effects on human beings! You may be surprised to know that Catherine de Médici (1519-1589) of Florence and later queen of France tested and carefully studied the effects of various toxic concoctions on the poor and the sick. At this time, France was literally infested with poisoners. The pinnacle of the "poisoners' glorious period" reached in France, in the late 17th century when a woman Catherine Deshayes (1638-1680), also popularly known as La Voisin developed a flourishing trade in selling poisons to wives who wished to rid themselves of their husbands! She is said to have been responsible for the death of many thousands, and could well have been a greater poisoner than even Toffana. La Voisin was burnt at stake in 1680." "This is certainly most outrageous. It is also surprising that even kings and queens revelled in poisoning others!" "You would be surprised that even Popes and their children have been involved in notorious poisonings. The most famous case is of the 15th and 16th century family of Borgias which flourished in Italy. The most notorious poisoners of this family were Cesare Borgia (1476-1507) and Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519) who dispatched several of their rivals with a secret poison, then known as "La Cantarella". Their name is so inseparable with 15th and 16th century Italy, that whenever there is a mention of this time and location, the name of Borgias immediately springs to one's mind. Most people associate them with murder-by-poison plots. They were the illegitimate son and daughter of one Rodrigo Lenzuoli Borgia (1431-1503), who went on to become Pope Alexander VI from 1492 onwards till his death. He is said to have had five children by his mistress Vanozza de Cattanei, out of which two - Cesare and Lucrezia - proved to be most notorious. La Cantarella, often known as "the poison of the Borgias", was a secret poison and no one seems to know its composition today, but it most probably was a mixture of subacetate of copper, arsenic and crude phosphorus. Borgias were such feared poisoners that a historian, Max Beerbohm has made a very interesting comment about them. At one place he says, that in fifteenth century Italy, though one might have heard a snobbish Roman say, in a would-be-off-hand tone, ‘I am dining with the Borgias tonight’, no Roman was ever able to say, ‘I dined last night with the Borgias.’! Borgias were not only dreaded poisoners, but they had other vices too. For instance, incest is supposed to have been rampant among them, with Lucrezia rumoured to have had sexual relations with her father and brother. Certainly her first husband Giovanni alleged incest between Lucrezia and her father. He was so apprehensive of the whole family that he fled Rome in great terror. In 1501, she brought out a son, then aged three. He was recognized by papal bulls first as the son of Cesare (her brother), and later of Alexander (her father). " "Lucrezia sounds like an interesting character. Can you tell me more about her?" "Sure. In her short life span of 39 years, she married as many as three times. Some historians think that Lucrezia probably never poisoned anyone, but certainly her brother Cesare dispatched several people with poison. She was most probably used by her father and brother to further their own political ends. She married for the first time in 1493 into the powerful Sforza family of Milan. This was just one year after her father was made a pope. However as we have already seen, her husband ran away from Rome in terror. In 1497, her father Alexander annulled the marriage, and in 1498, she married one Alfonso, an illegitimate son of the King of Naples. In 1500, he was murdered at the behest of Cesare. The following year (1501), she brought out a son, and as we have seen earlier, he was three years of age at that time. She married for the third time in the same year (1501); this time to the son of the Duke of Ferrara. This marriage was arranged by her brother. After her father's death in 1503, she retired to Ferrara, where she spent the last days of her life." "How was La Cantarella, the famous poison of the Borgias prepared?" "The recipe sounds quite interesting. It is believed that first of all a hog was killed with arsenic. Its abdomen was opened and sprinkled with more powder, which contained more poisons. Some historians think that the powder contained just arsenic, but it might have contained other poisons as well. The animal was then allowed to putrefy. The juices which trickled from the decaying corpse were collected and evaporated till only dry powder remained. This dry powder was called La Cantarella" "That's remarkable! You said that the Borgias lived in Italy. Were the Italians as skilled poisoners as the French?" "Sure. In fact it were the Italians who developed poisoning to a fine art! You may be surprised to know that in Venice there was a "Council of Ten" who met regularly to arrange poisoning for the State and their written records are preserved. Victims were named, prices agreed and contracts with poisoners recorded. When the deed was accomplished the marginal note "Factum" was written in the record and payments were made, sometimes in the form of a regular pension. The "Council of Ten" appears to have had a number of poisons in their repertoire. Three of them are preserved as the "secreta secretissima" in archives dating from 1540-1544 A.D. Their chief ingredients were corrosive sublimate (mercuric chloride), white arsenic (arsenic trioxide, also known as Sankhya or Somalkhar in Hindi), arsenic trisulfide and arsenic trichloride. So rampant was poisoning in 15th to 17th century Italy, that expert poisoners ran schools for would-be-poisoners, just as there are schools today for medical and Engineering entrance examinations! Even the great Italian Renaissance man Leonardo the Vinci (1452-1519) experimented with poisons." "Really! It seems he didn't leave any area of knowledge untouched. Anyway can you tell me, what those experiments were?" "Leonardo invented the so-called technique of "passages", in which an animal was killed by an injection of poison and the essential organs that had been impregnated with the poison, such as the liver, spleen and lungs were then removed. An extract was prepared from these organs and administered to another animal and the process was repeated. With each "passage" the strength of the poison was supposed to increase. He also studied the procedure in plants. In an effort to produce most innocuous looking poisons such as fruits, he injected the bark of certain fruit trees with potassium cyanide. The idea was that it would rise up along the conducting system and be incorporated in the fruits. The resulting fruit were of course poisonous, but contained only small amounts of cyanide. They had to be eaten for weeks before they could cause death." "Fantastic! Did his recipe manage to kill someone after all?" "Tarun, legend has it that at a banquet in the house of Lodovico Il Moro, fruit from Leonardo's garden was presented to Giangaleazzo Sforza, who was fighting for Italian unity. More fruit was sent to him during the following days, until he finally died of poisoning." "Unbelievable! What about the tradition of poisoning in our own country?" "Tarun, ancient Hindu physicians were very well-versed in the art of poisons. The famous Indian surgeon Sushruta who lived in the 7th century BC defined agadatantra, which is very much akin to the modern term of "toxicology". It dealt with the diagnosis and treatment of any person bitten by poisonous insects or venomous reptiles or affected by any natural, artificial or compound poison. Tradition also tells us that many Indian kings used to have poison damsels or Vish Kanyas in their courts. Legend has it that they were fed on poisons right from their birth, and were thus made so venomous that a mere kiss would prove fatal to her lover. It is said that when Alexander the Great invaded India, King Chandragupta sent such poison damsels to him, in consultation with his minister Chanakya." "It seems to me now that poisons held a kind of morbid attraction for the ancient people and that most ancient cultures revelled in studying them." "You can say that again. Take for example the Egyptians. you may be surprised to know that the earliest documentary accounts of poisons are to be found in ancient Egypt. Three millennia before Christ, Menes, the first of the Pharaohs, is reported to have cultivated and studied poisonous and medicinal plants and to have accumulated animal, mineral, and vegetable poisons. Ebers Papyrus also mentions several of them...." "Doctor, sorry to interrupt you, but what is Ebers papyrus?" "Tarun, it is one of the oldest medical documents available. It was found in the 19th century, between the legs of a mummy in a tomb near Luxor which is a town on east bank of river Nile in upper Egypt. It was advertised for sale, and acquired by Professor Ebers in 1872; hence the name Ebers papyrus. The papyrus is dated about 1550 BC, and it reveals many customs, traditions and practices of the ancient Egyptian doctors. It describes over 800 recipes, many containing recognizable and identified poisons-for example, hemlock, aconite, opium and some of the toxic heavy metals such as lead and antimony. Some of the pharaohs are known to have experimented with poisons, perhaps for practical matters of government and State. Similarly the mythology and literature of classic Greek history also shows a considerable knowledge of poisons. In the Odyssey of Homer, Helen is described as discreetly introducing into the wine of Telemachus and Menelaus a drug that acted as a powerful anodyne. An anodyne as you know is a drug which relieves pain. In Greek legend, Hecate was knowledgeable about aconite, Medea was familiar with the properties of colchicum and Hercules is said to have met his end from wearing a shirt after his wife had impregnated it with poison. The first professional treatment of toxicology begins to appear in various Greek writings in around 3rd to 4th century BC. Thus Theophrastus, who lived from 370 to 286 BC, a pupil of Aristotle, included numerous references to poisonous plants in his work De Historia Plantarum. Nicander of Colophon (204-138 BC) wrote two treatises, which are the most ancient works devoted entirely to poisons. One was on snake poisons, the other on plant poisons, including opium, henbane, poisonous fungi, colchicum, aconite and conium. Nicander divided poisons into those that killed quickly and those that killed slowly and he recommended emetics in the treatment of poisoning, a recommendation which is valid even today." "Doctor, can you tell me how many poisons exist in this world?" "Nobody really knows Tarun. It has been said that anything and everything in the world can act as a poison. It is merely a matter of dose. A drug which acts as a medicine in small doses may act as a poison in a large dose. A striking example is that of common salt. We all take it daily in small doses, but half a kilogram of it can kill a man. That way it also is a poison. Of course, nobody could give common salt to his enemy in such a large dose. In a more accepted sense, the term poison is restricted to those chemical substances which kill in very small doses. The idea of classifying all known poisons has vexed scientists since ancient times. The Greek physician, Dioscorides (AD 40-90) classified poisons under three headings. They were the animal poisons, such as cantharides, toads, snakes, etc; poisons from plants, including opium, hyoscyamus, mandrake, hemlock, aconite, cherry laurel and yew, and mineral poisons, including arsenic, copper, mercury and lead. This simple classification remained in use for many centuries and is still vaguely recognizable in modern classifications of poisons. "I have heard that poisons were used as a mode of capital punishment too." "Yes, you are right. Poisons were used by the ancient Greeks as a means of capital punishment, the best remembered case being that of Socrates who was given hemlock. It was also used as a means of political assassination, though this use was developed on a much greater scale by the Romans subsequently. Thus started the search for antidotes for poisons. In fact it became a practical necessity if the king wished to survive in office." "Doctor, you introduced a new term antidote. What is it?" "Tarun, antidotes are the remedies administered against poisons. The term literally means "give against". It is derived from the Greek words anti or against and didonai, to give. The most famous example of an antidote was that devised by King Mithridates VI. He was king of Pontus in Asia Minor, living from 114-63 BC. The Roman scholar Pliny (AD 23-79) wrote a good deal about him. Mithridates experimented with poisons, trying them out on condemned criminals, and he also tried out various antidotes to the various poisons on these prisoners, either before they were poisoned or immediately after they were poisoned to see whether in fact the antidotes were effective. In this way he discovered various antidotes or what he considered to be antidotes against different poisons and he then compounded them all together in order to produce a universal antidote which could neutralize any poison. Adopting an overcautious approach, he then began taking this supposed universal antidote daily, so that nobody could secretly kill him with poison. It is often stated that the original recipe had more than 36 ingredients; Greek physician Galen (AD 130-200) said there were 54!" "Great! Did this recipe help him finally?" "This has an interesting ending. Eventually Mithridates was defeated by the Roman general and statesman Pompey (106-48 BC) and holed up in his fortress; he massacred his wives, concubines and daughters and he then took poison to commit suicide, but, alas, protected as he was by his daily dose of his magnificent antidote, the poison failed to act! The antidote by this time was known as Mithridatium. Perhaps he failed to die from poison because of this antidote. He had to get his Celtic soldier servant to stab him to death with his sword! After his defeat and death, Pompey discovered Mithridates' notebooks on antidotes for poisons, and so Mithridatium became known in Rome." "And the science of poisons and antidotes moved on to Rome?" "Well, the Roman emperor Nero (AD 37-68) showed a great interest in poisons. Andromachus, one of Nero's personal physicians, improved the formula of Mithridatium and it then became known as Theriac of Andromachus, containing 64 ingredients-and this included the flesh of vipers! For some strange reason, people have always thought that the flesh of vipers is a good antidote to poison. Perhaps this thought arose because the snakes are poisonous yet they do not die of their own poison, so it is rather reasonable to think that the snakes' flesh acted as an antidote. Viper's flesh was a very common ingredient of any antidote that was developed in ancient times. In the course of time Theriac became not only an antidote against poison but also a panacea against all diseases and it was in medical use until the 18th century. To prevent fraud, in many cities, including Venice, Montpellier, Toulouse and Strasburg, Theriac was carefully compounded and prepared in public under official supervision! Even today Theriac jars can be seen in museums. It was only in the 18th century, that a serious challenge was mounted against this antidote. In 1745, William Heberden (1710-1801), one of the most outstanding physicians of London of the mid 18th century published a critical analysis of this antidote. It was entitled Antitheriaka: An Essay on Mithridatium and Theriaka." "Are there some other so-called Universal antidotes too?" "Sure there are. Other universal antidotes which survived for centuries in popular use were bezoars-stomach stones-found in certain animals, particularly ruminants and some varieties of goats. They were probably gallstones. These were first used in the Middle East and they were introduced into Europe by the Arabs, who still have some faith in them in some parts of the Middle East to this present day. These stones were pulverized and put into drinks of wine to treat cases of poisoning, but small stones were also mounted and worn as amulets as a protection against poison. Bezoars were also thought to be very effective against snake bite." "How popular were the bezoar stones?" "Oh, they were very popular - even among the kings and queens! Charles IX of France (1550-1574) was once presented with a bezoar of which he was very proud. Ambroise Paré (1510-1590), French physician and one of the most notable surgeons of the European Renaissance told him that there was no universal antidote, much less the bezoar that he possessed, but so strong was everyone's belief in bezoars, that Charles refused to believe him. Somehow Paré coaxed Charles into conducting an experiment - if somewhat disgusting and gory - to convince him that bezoar was indeed useless. Paré suggested that Charles test his bezoar on a condemned criminal. Charles IX agreed to this happily. He sent for his provost and asked if he had on hand any prisoner who merited hanging, and was told that there indeed was such a prisoner. He was a poor cook who had stolen two silver plates from his master, and he was to be hanged the next day. You may be surprised at such a severe punishment being handed down for such a trifling crime, but it was the order of the day. The cook's consent was taken, who was only too happy to give the consent. He is supposed to have said that he would like much better to die of poison in the prison, than to be strangled in view of the people. And of course there was an outside chance of him being saved by the bezoar, in which case, he would probably have been let off, as a kind gesture. The apothecary was asked to give him a poison, and he duly administered him a strong dose of bichloride of mercury, immediately after which he was given the bezoar stone. The poor cook immediately started vomiting and purging, and so burning was he from the inside that he asked for water immediately. It was given to him. An hour later the cook was on all-fours, going like an animal, his tongue hanging out from his mouth, his eyes and face red, retching and in cold sweat, bleeding from his ears, nose, and mouth. Paré made him drink oil, which was probably a much better remedy, considering the state of knowledge in those times. Oil acts as a demulcent and might have served to prolong his life somewhat. The cook died an agonizing death after seven hours, cursing that he would probably have been better off at the gibbet. The king was so disgusted that he burnt the bezoar - or whatever was left of it." "That might have brought about an end to an era of superstition." "Not at all! So strong was the belief in bezoars that even after this convincing experiment, Charles never lost faith in bezoars; he only thought he had been cheated. To be sure, it was very common in those days to pass of ordinary pebbles as costly bezoars. In fact during the reign of King James I of England (1566-1625), considerable attention was attracted by legal action brought against a goldsmith for having sold a hundred pounds' worth of counterfeit bezoar stones. In any case, the use of these stones did not cease at all; they even spread across the Atlantic! It is known that Governor John Winthrop (1588-1649), first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the chief figure among the Puritan founders of New England desired a bezoar to use in his practice. He was supplied one by John Endicott (1588-1665), who in turn had procured it from one Mr. Humphry." "Oh, that is certainly most interesting!" "Tarun, then there was another very interesting substance being touted as the Universal antidote. It was the Unicorn's horn. It was supposedly derived from the mythical unicorn. The unicorn, as you surely must be knowing is a mythological animal resembling a horse or a kid with a single horn on its forehead. Unicorn's horn was first described as far back as 400 B.C. by the historian Ctesias. Although the Unicorn as is described in most legends never exists, there IS an actual animal which resembles the mythical unicorn, and that is the Narwhal. Also spelled as Narwal, or Narwhale (Monodon monoceros), it is a small whale belonging to the family Monodontidae. It is found along coasts and, sometimes, in rivers throughout the Arctic. It is mottled gray in colour and grows to about 16 feet long. It has only two teeth, both at the tip of the upper jaw. In the male, the left tooth develops into a straight tusk protruding forward from the upper lip. This tusk grows to about 8 or 9 feet in size - about one and a half times your height - and it was this tusk, which was prized in medieval times as the fabled horn of the unicorn. Interestingly, it is grooved on the surface in a left-handed spiral. Rare males may develop two tusks; females usually develop none. The tusk has no known function; it is believed to have developed as a result of sexual selection. Quite possibly the tusk of a rhinoceros was also being passed off as the Unicorn's horn." "Was the Unicorn's horn as popular as the bezoar stones?" "Oh, certainly! They were being sold for thousands of dollars. A specimen in Dresden was estimated in the sixteenth century to be worth $75,000. So costly was it, that its use was confined to the nobility. Ordinary lay people simply could not afford to buy it. So afraid were kings at this time (of poisoning), that the Unicorn's horn became part of official regal dowry! When Henry II (1519-1559) the king of France , married Catherine de Médicis (1519-1589) in 1533, Pope Clement VII, bride's uncle presented Francis I - the bridegroom's father - with a piece of unicorn's horn. A legend was rife at this time that the unicorn purified poisoned waters with its horn so that other animals may drink. Interestingly it was valued as a remedy despite the fact that the identical substance is in every tooth and is therefore in the mouth of everyone who has any teeth. During medieval France, there was the curious custom among the nobles and kings of dipping the unicorn's horn in any drink before it was taken. Court intrigues were rife at the time, and one was always worried about getting poisoned from some unsuspected enemy. Many would go a step ahead and would drink from a cup made from such a horn! The famous French physician Ambroise Paré tried to abolish this custom, but was unsuccessful. In England, the belief in unicorn's horn as an antidote for poison lasted until the reign of Charles II, when the Royal Society was requested to investigate the properties of a cup made from such a horn. The society reported that the cup was useless as an antidote. Like the bezoars, Unicorn's horn also enjoyed popularity across the Atlantic and it is known that Governor Endicott loaned Governor John Winthrop a horn for use in his medical practice." "Fantastic! Bezoars...Unicorn's horns...Were there other Universal Antidotes too?" "Yes, sure, there were several others. Another interesting universal antidote was Terra Sigillata, a special clay earth from a particular hill on the island of Lemnos. It might have had some value, as clay is quite adsorbent, and it must have adsorbed some poisons. This clay was often formulated with goat's blood to make it into a paste. Like the bezoars and the Unicorn's horn, there was fraud in its sale too. And it was quite easy. Because virtually any kind of clay - which is so easily available - could have been passed off as the real one from the Island of Lemnos. To prevent fraud, this special clay was often prepared in tablets and stamped with a seal, thus giving the substance its name. Later, other sources of similar earth were found in different parts of Europe and in the 16th and 17th Centuries mugs were made of it, from which anyone could drink without fear of poisoning. In much modern times, another formulation has been touted as the Universal antidote, and it was supposed to consist of 2 parts of activated charcoal, 1 part of magnesium oxide and 1 part of tannic acid. It definitely sounds more scientific than the bezoars, Unicorn's horns and Terra Sigillatas, but it is equally worse - probably much more. The reason is that it could be quite easy to convince a scientifically minded person of the uselessness of the bezoars etc. but it takes quite an effort to convince him of the uselessness of such scientifically sounding formulation as the so-called "modern universal antidote". You may be surprised that even in several of today's text books, this antidote finds mention as a useful antidote. Till recently it could be purchased legally from respectable chemists' shops under the trade name Unidote® or Res-Q®. The latter as you can very well see is an interesting take-off from the word "rescue", implying that it would rescue one from every kind of poisoning." "Alright, but what was the idea behind this antidote?" "Tarun, it was thought that charcoal would adsorb many alkaloids, magnesium oxide would neutralize acids without gas formation and the tannic acid would precipitate many of the glucosides and several metallic poisons. But it was all humbug, simply because the ingredients which were included were not the real thing. Burnt toast was included as activated charcoal - which it is not; strong tea was included as tannic acid, and milk of magnesia was included to account for magnesium oxide. Even if actual ingredients were included, it is doubtful if it would have been of any use. This Universal antidote has probably killed more persons that it has saved, simply because it instilled false sense of security among people, who were poisoned. They did nothing except taking this antidote and died. Had they not fallen prey to this false sense of security, they would probably have taken advise from some wise doctor, and would have been able to save their lives." "Oh, certainly. What has been the status of toxicology in modern times?" "Tarun, modern toxicology has emerged from the dark, murky world of secret poisoners, fantastic antidotes and so on. The last 150 years have seen great progress in the analysis of poisons. Today, with modern techniques and instrumentation, the most minute traces of alien compounds can be detected, not only from tissues and organs at post-mortem, but also in biological samples such as blood and urine collected during life. The science of antidotes has also become more scientific. We have moved from the age of Mithridatium, bezoars and Terra Sigillata to the age of physiological antidotes and chelating agents. Several medical journals are devoted solely to the study of toxicology. Toxicology is taken up by several promising young students as their career. It is no longer the murky, shady, crime-infested vocation of the poisoners; instead it has become a true science pursued by brilliant investigators. Toxicology is a promising career for any young scientist." "Thank you doctor for introducing the science of poisons to me. What are you going to tell me the next time?" "Tarun, next time I shall tell you about Arsenic, which has often been called the 'King of poisons'. "

Forensic Toxicology THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE FEBRUARY 2000 ISSUE THE POISON SLEUTHS DEATH BY GOLD -Dr. Anil Aggrawal "Good morning doctor. Oh, my God, what are you doing today? You have the dead body of an old lady today. She appears to have a gray pigmentation all over her body. What happened to her? Please tell me.” “Good morning Tarun. The name of this 58 old lady is Rita, and she belongs to a very rich family. She married a relatively young, smart and ambitious doctor about a year back, after the death of her first husband. She was a chronic patient of rheumatoid arthritis - a disease mainly affecting women, in which there is intense pain in the joints- and was constantly taking medications for it. For some days however, she was complaining of vague symptoms, like stomach upsets, sore throat and tongue, a general lassitude and so on. Her own husband -the second one - was a doctor. He was treating her by his own medicines, but when things went out of his hands, he took her to the hospital. The senior doctors at the hospital also couldn't diagnose anything specific, and were treating her along general lines. Today morning her husband reported to the hospital that Rita was dead, and could they please issue a death certificate. That is how the case came to me." "But you only deal with police cases doctor, and this doesn't seem like a police case to me at all. After all, she was an old lady and was suffering from a disease for which she was taking medications too. The doctors should have issued her a death certificate and that would have been an end of it. Why at all has she been brought to you for a post-mortem examination?" "Tarun, this lady is worth about 65 crores of Rupees, and her husband Satyanand stands to inherit all that money. Some cousin of Rita has alleged that Rita has not died a natural death as is alleged by Satyanand, but in fact he has killed her by some poison. He has approached the police too, and lodged an FIR to this effect also. That is why her body has come to me. Naturally, like every other time, I have to tell the police, if she died of a natural death, or if some poison was used to finish her off." "Oh, I see. So what do you think of this case doctor?" "Tarun, I have taken a detailed history from that cousin of her, from the neighbors and from the doctors at the hospital who treated her. Two or three things have been bothering me quite a lot. Firstly the grayish pigmentation over her body, about which even you commented when you entered this post-mortem room. Secondly that almost all mucus membranes of her body are inflamed. She has an inflammation of her food pipe, wind pipe, her tongue, and even her vagina is inflamed. At her age, I wouldn't expect her vagina to be so inflamed. Moreover she appears to have a strange skin disease. I have examined her skin closely under the microscope and found that she is suffering from a special skin disease known as Lichen planus." "What does this all point to doctor?" "Tarun, to me, it seems to be a case of one and only one poison. A very unlikely one for you - one which would undoubtedly baffle you - gold!" "What? Gold? You must be joking doctor. Never heard of gold being used a poison." "Death by gold is surely a very very unlikely phenomenon. Nevertheless, it is possible. We must not forget that Rita was suffering from Rheumatoid arthritis, and one of the medications for it is gold. So gold salts were available in her house, and they could jolly well be used to kill her. We must also not forget that her husband was a young and ambitious doctor, and he surely knew that gold salts can be toxic in high doses.' "Doctor, I feel, we are again on the trails of one of your great poison cases. Can we start the tale of gold from the beginning please? Please tell me about gold in some detail, so I could follow your conversation better." "First, a few basic facts about gold. Known since antiquity, gold is a soft, malleable, lustrous yellow metal that steadfastly resists corrosion. Its atomic weight is 197 and it is a member of Group 1B in the periodic table of elements. Metallic gold is one of the least active metals chemically. It does not oxidise or burn in air even when heated and it is inert to strong alkalis and virtually all acids, except to selenic acid and to aqua regia, which as you know is a mixture of Concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acid." "Doctor you were telling me, that Rita was taking gold salts for her ailment. So that means that gold is useful as a medicine too?" "Sure. Gold, in elemental form, has been employed for centuries to relieve the itching palm. The real interest in gold as a medicine started when in 1890 the great bacteriologist Robert Koch told an international congress in Berlin that gold-cyanide complexes were most effective of all known antiseptics against tuberculosis bacteria, at least when tested in the test tube at high dilution. Unfortunately animals having tuberculosis could not be treated with these complexes. This dampened everybody's interest in gold compounds. In 1924, a Danish veterinarian demonstrated that gold sodium thiosulphate (known as Sanochrysine when sold in the form of a drug) had a beneficial effect in tuberculosis of the cow. Physicians tried the same compound in humans, but no success could be achieved. In those times, arthritis (pain in the joints) was wrongly thought by some to be a tuberculous manifestation. Under this impression Lande in Germany administered aurothioglucose (Solganal, a gold compound prepared by the Schering Corporation), to thirty-nine patients suffering from a variety of complaints. Many of these patients had joint pains due to rheumatic fever, and most of these patients reported relief of joint pain. Lande concluded that a full-fledged trial of the drug in arthritis would be worthwhile. Four years later in 1929, Jacques Forestier in Paris began to use another gold compound, gold-thiopropanol sodium sulphonate (Allochrysine) in rheumatoid arthritis. His observations were favorable, and it were mainly these observations which were largely responsible for the popularity of use of gold compounds in medicine. Therapy with gold compounds now even has a name; it is called chrysotherapy. Gradually the use of gold preparations in arthritic conditions began to spread, but it was not until 1944 that the results of a properly controlled clinical trial were first published by Fraser in Glasgow. He reported that clinical improvement occurred in 82% of 57 rheumatic patients who received intramuscular injections of sodium aurothiomalate (Myochrysin). Sodium aurothiomalate had been investigated in 1939, but only after the Glasgow trial was its value in therapeutics generally accepted. At present Gold is employed mainly in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Its use is usually reserved for those patients with rapidly progressive disease who do not obtain satisfactory relief from therapy with aspirin-like drugs. Gold has however also been used in the treatment of several other diseases, but by and large, its use in other diseases is not very beneficial. Gold has also been used as a prosthetic. Because of its malleability and its anti-corrosive characteristics, gold has been employed as a prosthetic in dentistry and has been used widely as the predominant component of dental alloys containing silver, copper and small amounts of platinum and lead. These alloys can be heat treated to develop strengths as great as 150,000 psi (per square inch). Ophthalmologists have successfully implanted carefully balanced metallic gold weights into eyelids, as a surgical correction for patients who suffer from lagophthalmos. Before proceeding further, I may tell you that lagophthalmos is the technical name for the inability to voluntarily close an eyelid; the name comes from Greek lagos, meaning hare, because many people feel that in this disease, the eyes become rather like those of a hare! Gold has been recently used for delivery of genes inside the cells by genetic engineers. It has been seen that DNA can be absorbed to the surface of minute metallic gold particles and efficiently delivered by a controlled helium pulse to cells of the inferior epidermis. This is a painless maneuver, and results in notably efficient gene expression." "Oh, I see. It seems, gold is really a useful metal for doctors. Can you tell me which compounds of gold are most commonly used as medications?" "Sure Tarun. Mainly three compounds of gold are in clinical use. These are aurothioglucose, gold sodium thiomalate and auranofin. Aurothioglucose (SOLGANAL) and Gold sodium thiomalate (MYOCHRYSINE), both contain approximately 50% of gold by weight (For instance, gold sodium thiomalate is C4H3O4Na2SAu. Thus the molecular weight of the molecule comes to 390 of which 197 is gold, making it almost 50% by weight). Solganal is sold as a sterile suspension in a suitable fixed oil. Commercial preparations contain 50 mg/ml. Myochrysine is available as a sterile aqueous solution for injection. The usual dose is 10 mg of either of these compounds in the first week as a test dose, followed by 25 mg in the second and third weeks. Thereafter about 50 mg is administered at weekly intervals until the cumulative dose reaches 1 g (i.e. for about 20 weeks). A favorable response is generally not evident till after a few months. If neither significant toxicity, nor clinical response is visible, the dose is increased, but never more than 100 mg a week. Auranofin is available in India as GOLDAR, and RIDAURA. Both are available as 3 mg tablets, one tablet costing about Rs 12. The oral dose is 6 mg daily (i.e. about 42 mg a week) or one tablet two times a day, for a minimum of 3-6 months. As you can see in the accompanying formulae of these compounds, you will find that all significant medicinal preparations of gold are those in which the atom of gold is attached to an atom of sulphur. Nobody knows how gold salts work as medicines. But two facts are known about gold; one that monovalent gold has a strong affinity for sulphur and two that they have inhibitory effects on various enzymes of the body. This has led theoreticians to speculate that the therapeutic effects of gold salts might derive from inhibition of sulfhydryl systems which are present in the body. I may tell you that sulphydryl enzymes of the body have sulphur as their main component. However, other sulfhydryl inhibitors do not appear to have therapeutic actions in common with gold." "Doctor, is gold a component of normal human body also?" "Very little. An average human being has just about 2.45 mg of gold in his body. This however leads us to an interesting fact. Considering that the total population of the earth is about 6 billion at present, it follows, that the total gold contained in all human bodies is about 20 metric tons!" "Oh, that is really an amazing fact. Doctor, when a patient takes gold salts for his ailment, where does it go? Does it go to joints?" "Tarun, gold does go to the affected joints where its concentration is about ten times that in muscle, bone or fat. When one takes 50 mg of gold, about half of it disappears from the body in about 7 days. Technically doctors like to put this fact by saying that the half-life of gold is about 7 days for a 50-mg dose. You must however not confuse this half life with that used in radioactivity. But when a patient goes on taking successive doses, the half life lengthens, and values of weeks and months may be observed after prolonged therapy. After a cumulative dose of 1 g of gold, about 60% of the amount administered is retained in the body. In normal adults, minute amounts of gold can be detected in the hair, nails and skin. Using Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA), values ranging from 0-1.1 micrograms per gram of dry tissue weight, with a mean of 0.35 micrograms per gram (i.e. 0.35 ppm) have been reported. Following a course of gold therapy for 12 months, an increase of about 2-5 fold in these values occurs. After termination of treatment, urinary excretion of gold can be detected for as long as a year, even though concentrations in blood fall to the normal trace amounts in about 40 to 80 days. Substantial quantities of gold have been found in the liver and skin of patients many years after the cessation of therapy. Large amounts of gold salts, or their metabolic by products are commonly contained within phagolysosomes called aurosomes. The excretion of gold is 60 to 90% renal and 10 to 40% fecal, the latter mostly by biliary secretion. "Doctor, now I feel, I know enough about gold compounds used as medications. Now tell me what are their adverse effects, and how can they be used as poisons." "Tarun, with gold therapy, skin and mucus membranes are affected most, and occur in about 15% of all patients. Skin reactions may vary from simple redness to severe inflammation. The minimum cumulative dose of gold salts that has been associated with skin reactions is 250 mg. Dermatitis is so common that, out of all reported adverse reactions to gold therapy, almost 66% constitute diverse forms of dermatitis. Lesions of mucus membranes include stomatitis, pharyngitis, tracheitis, gastritis, colitis, glossitis and vaginitis, as we have seen in Rita's case. As with silver, a gray-to-blue pigmentation (Chrysiasis) may occur in skin and mucus membranes, especially in areas exposed to light. This pigmentation is due to the excessive collection of aurosomes in the skin cells. We have seen this too in her case. In 5-8% of patients, the kidneys may be affected to some extent. Kidneys may begin to pass proteins and even blood in about 1-3% of cases. Gold may also cause severe blood disorders, inflammation of the brain and peripheral neuritis, and of the liver. The usual fatal dose of gold is 50-500 mg/kg of the body weight. This means that for a person weighing 50 kg, which was Rita's weight, a dose of gold, as little as 2500 mg is sufficient to kill. We have seen that the Commercial preparations of Aurothioglucose (SOLGANAL) contain 50 mg/ml. This means that an injection of about 50 ml of this drug was sufficient to kill her. Before proceeding further, I must tell you the contraindications of gold therapy. Contraindications of a therapy means those conditions, in which that particular therapy should not be performed, otherwise it could prove dangerous. Gold therapy is contraindicated in patients with kidney, liver and blood diseases. Patients who have recently received radiation (as those suffering from cancers) should also not receive gold. Gold is also poorly tolerated by aged individuals, and should thus be given to them with care. I have examined Rita's body, and have found that she was suffering from kidney ailments. Thus gold should not have been administered to her in the first place. Obviously this fact was known to Satyanand. She was an old patient too, in which case too, gold should not have been given to her. Now I think I know what happened. Satyanand was administering gold to her unsuspecting wife for quite some time, under the pretext that he was giving her medicines. Rita had no reason of suspecting him. Even if she had consulted some other doctor, he would have told her that he was giving her the right drug. That was precisely his plan. He knew that nobody would suspect him of administering her a poison, as gold is commonly used as a drug in rheumatoid arthritis, which was exactly what Rita was suffering from. But he was administering gold to her in very high quantities. Rita did get some symptoms of gold poisoning, and to show to everyone, that he was really concerned about her, he took her to various hospitals fully convinced that the doctors wouldn't be able to diagnose gold poisoning in her case, because it is so rare. And he was right! Then yesterday night, or probably early in the morning today, he gave her a heavy dose of gold by injection - may be about 40-50 ml-, thus giving a final blow to her. I have examined her liver, spleen and lymph nodes chemically and have found heavy doses of gold in those organs. Satyanand would have tough time explaining how such large doses of gold reached her organs. I also examined Rita's hip area where Satyanand gave her the last injection, and the muscle beneath is loaded with gold. This also is a point against him. Satyanand had probably used gold in the belief that nobody would ever be able to catch him, as this is a poison, so rarely used. But the typical hue of Rita's body, and her other body findings gave him away. Come, let us tell the police that Rita did not die a natural death. It was Satyanand, who administered her gold to kill her." "Unbelievable! This was a most interesting discussion doctor. Tell me what are you going to tell me the next time?" "Tarun, next time, I would tell you about a very interesting poison - Radon."

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Forensic Toxicology THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE FEBRUARY 1999 ISSUE THE POISON SLEUTHS DEATH BY POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE -Dr. Anil Aggrawal "Good morning doctor. Oh, my God, what are you doing today? You have the dead body of a middle aged man today. The corner of his lips seem to be stained with some dark black substance. What has happened to him? Please tell me." "Good morning Tarun. The name of this middle aged man is Sagar, and he is about 45 years old. He died in the hospital today morning. Yesterday night, he was having his dinner when suddenly he developed a burning pain in his abdomen. He had nausea and vomiting too, and the vomited material contained some brown material. He complained of intense thirst too. Because of this, the was brought by some of his neighbors to the hospital. But while the doctors were still investigating, he died today morning. Now since the doctors had not arrived at any diagnosis, the police has handed over his body to me. They want me to tell them, how Sagar has actually died." "So what are you going to do now?" "I have taken a detailed history from the police. The police tells me that Sagar was a builder, and he was running a very successful business. He however had business rivalry with a person called Nath. Apparently his business endeavors had caused great losses to Nath. Nath however kept visiting him often and posed as if he was his friend. Deep in his heart however, he wanted to get rid of him. Yesterday Nath visited him in his house for the New Year celebrations and gave him a bottle of red wine too for celebrations. Sagar was a sucker for red wine, so immediately after Nath left, he started consuming the red wine. However I am told that before Nath left, Sagar treated him to some very nice champagne from his own stock. But after Nath left, Sagar opened the wine bottle and emptied it in no time. After that he started having his dinner, but soon he started having all those symptoms." "Oh, I see. Looks like there was something in the red wine, which caused these symptoms. Is it?" "Probably you are correct Tarun. I became suspicious when I saw these dark stains on Sagar's face. You also noticed these stains, didn't you? Furthermore, the inside of his mouth and foodpipe were also stained. From these and certain other post-mortem findings which I am going to tell you later, I could zero down only on one poison....." "What is that poison doctor? Please tell me." "Tarun, it is a very rare poison. You probably never even imagined it is a poison. It is potassium permanganate or KMnO4." "Really? Yes, I never believed Potassium permanganate could be a poison too. In fact as far as I know, it is used to treat certain poisonings." "You are right Tarun. In certain poisonings, such as poisoning by Opium, potassium permanganate solution indeed is recommended. Doctors actually wash the stomach with this solution, because potassium permanganate oxidizes the opium. Similarly in many other poisonings, doctors wash the stomach with potassium permanganate solution. But unfortunately permanganate acts as a poison too. In fact about 10-20 g of potassium permanganate is enough to kill a person." "Is it? Oh, I think, we are on the trail of yet another interesting poison. Doctor please tell me more about Potassium permanganate (KMnO₄)?" "Tarun, potassium permanganate is a common substance, and it may be acquired without restriction by members of the public. Yet poisoning by it is uncommon and although in the case of Sagar we are probably facing a death due to this substance, in fact fatal poisoning by KMnO4 is rare. This must not cause its danger to be overlooked or underrated. Children in particular must be protected against the ingestion of colored crystals which may be eaten in mistake for sweets. In fact, I am personally aware of a child aged about 22 months who died after eating some permanganate crystals which his father used for gardening. Tablets of KMnO4 are still on sale in the USA and as Condy's tablets in Australia. In India too, this substance is not difficult to acquire. You may be surprised to know that KMnO4 has been used for illegal abortions." "Really? How??" "Potassium permanganate is an irritant substance. It irritates the uterus too, and may cause it to expel its contents. This has made the use of KMnO4 very popular in illegal abortions. Some women simply ingest it, while some make its solution and introduce it in their uterus through the vaginal route. Some women simply introduce crystals of KMnO4 in their vagina in order to procure abortion. The insertion of tablets of potassium permanganate into the vagina to procure abortion first came to notice in Spain and Italy during the 1930s. The practice spread to the USA in about 1936. This practice was noticed in England during World War II. It was thought that this 'new way to miscarry' was introduced to England by American servicemen, and indeed the tablets of KMnO4 were being hawked outside the local antenatal clinic of several doctors! You may be surprised to know that the mothers of newly married brides often regarded a box of these tablets as an appropriate gift to their daughters on the eve of their wedding!" "Oh, that is indeed most interesting. Probably it was because proper methods for abortion had not been developed by then?" "No, proper methods for abortions were there, but unfortunately abortion was not legal in most countries at that time. For instance in India, abortion became legal only as late as 1971. Before this time, if any married or unmarried woman became pregnant, the only way for her to have an abortion was to resort to such dangerous "household" methods. Although abortion has become legal in most countries, yet this practice has not yet have been abandoned in most of the countries. The reason is that most unmarried girls - for fear of society's censure - still don't want to disclose they have fallen pregnant. They prefer to do it themselves by these dangerous methods. They learn of these methods from their friends, acquire KMnO4 from somewhere and then try it out on their own. This has caused several deaths too. Douching with potassium permanganate is also very common..." "What is douching doctor?" "Women make a solution of KMnO4 and then with the help of an appropriate instrument, push this solution into their uterus. The douching may be done with intent to procure an abortion or only for hygienic reasons as KMnO4 is supposed to be an antiseptic. If however, the solution is too concentrated, it can have dangerous and probably fatal consequences." "Oh, I see. Has it been used for some other illegal activities too?" "Yes, potassium permanganate has been used to produce fictitious injuries. A trick is often employed by soldiers to simulate the lesions of tertiary syphilis by applying a tablet of permanganate to the skin for 10 to 20 minutes..." "Doctor what is tertiary syphilis? And what do you mean by lesions?" "Tarun, syphilis is a venereal disease which spreads by sexual contact. It affects the victim in several stages. Tertiary syphilis is the last stage of this disease, which commences several years after the sexual contact with an affected partner. By lesions, I simply mean the various abnormal and harmful changes which occur because of disease. A peculiar lesion in tertiary syphilis is a perforating ulcer of the feet. Such a lesion can be produced by applying potassium permanganate on the feet for several minutes..." "But why would a person want to produce such a lesion?" "Many persons want to simulate disease in order to get medical leaves. This trend is very common in the Army, where getting leaves is very difficult. Such people who pose that they are ill, yet are not, are called malingerers. A case of a soldier has been described who swallowed a solution of permanganate to simulate 'coffee ground' vomit. Such kind of vomit is usually seen in gastric ulcers. So probably this soldier wanted leave on this ground." "Oh, that is most interesting. Has it been used for other illegal activities too?" "Well, not for illegal activities, but certainly for some dangerous activities. For instance potassium permanganate solution was used at one time, notably during and after World War I, as an irrigant of the urethra and bladder in the treatment of gonorrhoea. The reasoning behind it was the same - it acts as an antiseptic." "Doctor, you told earlier that KMnO₄ is used for stomach wash in certain poisonings. Does it not kill the patient then?" "Tarun, when KMnO₄ is used for stomach wash, it is used in a solution of the strength 1:5000. It acts as an irritant in higher concentrations - about 1:1000. I may tell you that from the color of the KMnO4 solution, a rough idea can be made about the concentration. When the solution has a faint pink colour, the concentration is about one part per million. When the concentration rises to 1 part in 76,000 (65 mg/4.5 l) the fluid becomes purple. Because of its color, the solution has been used for staining also. Those who use the chemical as a stain for flooring and woodwork, working with a concentrated solution, must exercise care. Deep staining of the skin of the hands is immediate and prolonged contact can cause damage to the skin. There was a time when permanganate was used to dye white hair a chestnut brown." "Oh really?" "Yes, and I can tell you certain other interesting facts about permanganates too. Permanganates are normally stable in crystalline form but zinc permanganate can become explosive. In fact, storing it in tightly stoppered bottles can be highly dangerous. When handling these containers one should exercise utmost caution." "Doctor, do you think Nath mixed Potassium permanganate in something which he gave to Sagar?" "Yeah, looks like. Remember he gave a bottle of Red wine which Sagar immediately consumed after he left. Potassium permanganate can be easily dissolved in red wine because the colors of both are similar. Moreover the taste of red wine would mask the taste to potassium permanganate. Furthermore, Nath ensured that Sagar was not completely in his senses by having some drinks with him in his house. He knew that after he left his house Sagar would consume the red wine, and he would get severely poisoned." "Doctor, has Potassium permanganate been used for homicide often?" "Not really. It has more often been used for suicidal purposes, but accidental poisoning also occurs, notably in children under the age of four years, who usually mistake the red colored crystals for sweets. Adults, however, have taken the poison by mistake. A solution of permanganate may easily be mistaken for wine. And as I already told you, in the past it occasionally caused poisoning when taken orally as an abortifacient." "What is an abortifacient doctor?" "Tarun, abortifacient is a drug which causes abortion. Another popular - although wrong - belief is that it is a remedy for amenorrhoea. Amenorrhoea means absence of menstruation. Normally a girl should start menstruation at about the age of 13 years, but if the menstrual cycle does not start, the condition is known as amenorrhoea. Ideally when faced with such a symptom, a woman should contact a doctor, but many women prefer to treat themselves by folk remedies, and potassium permanganate is one of the folk remedies for amenorrhoea. Pills containing 65-130 mg of potassium permanganate, taken shortly before the expected period are supposed to cure the condition." "Doctor, what symptoms does the person get when he ingests potassium permanganate?" "Tarun, the symptoms are exactly as seen in Sagar's case. Staining of the tissues is very obvious. Some patients may have brown stains on the face, in linear form running down from an angle of the mouth on to the chin as you have seen in Sagar's case. The eyes and face may be stained if crystals fall on to the face. It is more usual to find discoloration of the interior of the mouth. If seen soon after poisoning the colour is purple-brown, but within minutes this changes to brown or dark brown and, later, following the formation of manganese dioxide, it may be coal black. A slight metallic lustre may also be apparent. I have seen Sagar's food pipe and it is coal black from the inside. This is a very clear indication that he had ingested potassium permanganate. I may tell you that potassium hydroxide is a product of the action of permanganate on the tissues, so corrosion of the foodpipe and stomach may be present. It is however superficial. The lips, gums, teeth, tongue, tonsils, pharynx, and the upper end of the larynx are all likely to be discoloured, inflamed and superficially corroded. This is especially severe at points where any crystals may lodge inside the mouth or throat. Occasionally, crystals may be seen on the lips, inside the cheeks or at the back of the throat and in the piriform fossae, especially when unusually deep." "What are the piriform fossae doctor?" "Tarun, the word piriform comes from the Latin pirum which means a pear. These are deep pear shaped pockets on either side of the pharynx. They are present at just the point where the pharynx ends and oesophagus starts. These pockets are at the sides. In fact any swallowed object - like pins for instance - is likely to get entangled in these pockets. If crystals of KMnO4 get lodged in piriform fossae, they can corrode these areas. Burning pain from the mouth to the pit of the stomach occurs soon after the ingestion of permanganate. Nausea and vomiting are not long delayed and the latter may become intractable. The vomit contains purple-brown or brown material which may be mistaken for altered blood from a bleeding peptic ulcer, i.e. 'coffee ground' vomit. Fluid loss by vomiting may cause intense thirst. A number of the patients experience difficulty in speaking or swallowing; this may persist for several days. About half of the patients complain of epigastric pain and tenderness. This may be accompanied and exaggerated by distension of the abdomen. The stools are black due to manganous sulphide. Potassium permanganate can come in contact with the air passages and when it does that, it provokes severe swelling of the air passages. Irritation of the trachea and bronchi leads to difficulty in respiration, and a persistent, spasmodic cough. Any sputum produced may contain dark flecks. A lethal dose, e.g. about 20g, usually kills in from 20 to 90 hours. When potassium permanganate is introduced into the uterus death may occur in only 12 hours." "Doctor, I have known enough about potassium permanganate to interact intelligently with you. Now tell me how you are going to convince the court positively that Nath killed him by giving KMnO4 in red wine?" "Tarun, I have got the wine bottle seized, and I have analyzed its washings. It has shown traces of KMnO4. How could KMnO4 come in a wine bottle? Obviously someone had put it there. And who else except the one who gave the bottle to him, and that too his business rival. Moreover I have found all the changes in Sagar's body, which are found in deaths due to KMnO4. As I told you, the changes produced by potassium permanganate are essentially those produced by an irritant and mildly caustic poison, but distinguished by brown-black staining of the tissues. I have found the staining of tissues in Sagar's case all over - over his face, inside his mouth, foodpipe and stomach. All these organs show congestion too, which is seen in ingestion of irritant poisons like KMnO4. I have also analyzed the contents of his stomach and I have found KMnO4 there as well. This is enough evidence to nail Nath. Come, let us tell the police to arrest Nath at once. He should not escape the legal net." "Very clever doctor. This was a most interesting discussion doctor. Without your masterly deduction, Nath could never have been caught. People might have thought, it was an accidental or perhaps a natural death. Tell me what are you going to tell me the next time?" "Tarun, next time, I would tell you about death by diesel fumes." "

Forensic Toxicology THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE DECEMBER 1998 ISSUE THE POISON SLEUTHS DEATH BY SODIUM CHLORATE -Dr. Anil Aggrawal "Good morning doctor. Oh, my God, what are you doing today? You have the dead body of a young man today. His whole body seems to have a chocolate brown color. Well, this is the most peculiar color I have ever seen in a dead body. What happened to him? Please tell me." "Good morning Tarun. The name of this young man is Radhey, and he died in Dr. Gupta's nursing home today morning. Yesterday he and his friend Shyam had a dinner at a 5-star hotel. While they were still having dinner, Shyam got a phone call and had to leave suddenly leaving the dinner unfinished. Radhey became sick immediately thereafter. He started vomiting. Seeing his condition, the hotel staff called the ambulance, and he was shifted to Dr. Gupta's nursing home. The doctors there started a battery of tests to arrive at a diagnosis, but before any diagnosis could be made, he died." "Oh, looks like he died of some natural disease. You said he had vomiting. May be he died of gastroenteritis." "Doesn't look like to me. Look at his body. It is so darkly colored. You yourself remarked on that as soon as you came here. One doesn't get that kind of color in gastroenteritis. There may be more to his death, than meets the eye." "Really? Well, let me know. I am all ears." "Tarun, I have asked the police investigating this case. It appears, Radhey and Shyam did not have good relations. They were business partners, but lately there had been lot of tussle between the two regarding the ownership of certain business properties, which ran into lakhs of rupees. Naturally each wanted the other out of way. In fact, yesterday's meeting at the 5-star hotel was meant just to sort out these problems...." "Oh, so you are hinting that probably Shyam killed Radhey. Did he administer some poison to him?" "Tarun, I have enquired in detail from the police about yesterday's events. They have taken the help of waiters and other staff to find out what exactly happened yesterday evening. Radhey and Shyam arrived in the dinner hall at about 7.30 pm yesterday night, and first of all they started having some drinks. After about two drinks, they called for soups. Just when the soups were brought, a phone call came for Radhey. We know this from the waiter who received the call. Well the waiter tells us that Radhey came back within a minute and started having soup. Soon after Shyam got a phone call and he had to leave. After this Radhey became sick. This peculiar story, coupled with the fact that the body of Radhey is showing this characteristic chocolate brown color, leads me to think that Radhey indeed has been poisoned..." "Really? With what poison doctor?" "Tarun, it is a very interesting poison. May be you never realized it is a poison. It is a very common salt available in all chemistry laboratories- sodium chlorate." "Sodium chlorate? Yeah indeed it is a very commonly available salt. But I never realized it is a poison also." "Yes, Tarun, it is a very deadly poison. In fact the brown color of Radhey's body led me to that. It causes browning of the body, because it forms a brownish colored compound in the body- methemoglobin." "Don't really know what methemoglobin is. Please tell me more about it doctor." "Tarun you know that all of us have hemoglobin in our bodies. It is the basic pigment which picks up oxygen from the lungs and delivers it to all tissues. It resides in the Red Blood Corpuscles or R.B.C.s. If anything were to go wrong with hemoglobin, oxygen transport to the tissues would be seriously hampered and the person may die. Hemoglobin molecule has four iron atoms in it, all of which are in the reduced or ferrous state. This is usually written by the chemical symbol Fe++. Methemoglobin is nothing but a molecule of hemoglobin, in which one or more of iron atoms - may be just one, or all four- are oxidized to Ferric state. Chemically we can represent these iron moieties as Fe+++. Once the hemoglobin molecule is modified in this way, it no more remains useful as an oxygen carrier. It becomes useless in other words, and the person may die for want of oxygen. Sodium chlorate is a strong oxidizing agent. It oxidizes the hemoglobin to methemoglobin and this may cause rapid death." "Just a minute doctor. You said that normally hemoglobin takes oxygen from the lungs and delivers it to all tissues. Doesn't that too oxidize the hemoglobin and render that useless?" "Oh, no Tarun. That is a very loose combination of hemoglobin with oxygen. In fact nature has devised it to be so loose that it readily delivers its oxygen to the tissues. In this combination, all iron atoms remain in the ferrous state. Only the whole molecule simply picks up the oxygen molecule, much as you would pick a hot coal with a tong. But Sodium chlorate really "oxidizes" the molecule rendering it useless. So although Hemoglobin normally carries oxygen around, it doesn't get oxidized in the true sense of the word. In fact, if it were to be oxidized by any means, it would immediately be rendered useless." "Oh, Sodium chlorate really appears to be an interesting poison doctor. Please tell me more about it." "Tarun. Two chlorates are very important from a toxicologist's standpoint- Sodium and Potassium chlorate. Chemically we can write them as KClO3 and NaClO3. At one time potassium chlorate was widely used in medicine and being obtainable without restriction, it was a popular household remedy, especially for sore throat. It has now been completely abandoned as a remedy and therefore it is a rare source of poisoning today. Sodium chlorate on the other hand, has a reputation as a safe and effective weedkiller, and is commonly available. Sodium Chlorate is also used as an explosive in many parts of the world. It is still commonly available in the market. Unfortunately many people think that it is non-poisonous, and this wrong belief has given rise to several poisonings." "Doctor, how can poisoning with sodium chlorate occur usually?" "Tarun, poisoning with sodium chlorate can occur accidentally, suicidally or even homicidally as seems to be the case I am handling today. Accidental poisoning is perhaps the most common. Sodium chlorate has been mistaken for common salt and Epsom salts..." "Sorry to interrupt you doctor, but what exactly is Epsom salt?" "Tarun, it is a bitter, white crystalline powder consisting of hydrated magnesium sulfate. It was once used in medicine as a cathartic and to reduce inflammation such as in sore throat. Its formula is MgSO4.7H2O. It is named after a place called Epsom, in Surrey, England, where it was originally prepared from the water of mineral springs. If magnesium sulfate is prescribed for some disorder, and the person inadvertently took sodium chlorate, which looks very much like it, he may be severely poisoned. In some cases poisoning has occurred when potassium chlorate was taken as a medicine, mainly to treat inflammation or septic spots. In many such cases, potassium chlorate was given for local application, but it was swallowed instead. In one such case, a person was having an ulcer in his mouth. He was given potassium chlorate to gargle his mouth with, but he swallowed it, and was severely poisoned. Illegible prescriptions have also given rise to some poisonings. In one such case, the intended drug to be given was potassium chloride. But on the prescription, only the words "potassium chl." were written. This was misinterpreted by the chemist as potassium chlorate. This drug was dispensed and the patient was severely poisoned!" "Very interesting indeed!" "Tarun, I know of several instances when potassium and sodium chlorates have caused inadvertent deaths. In one case, a 5 year old girl had scarlet fever. Inflammation of her throat was treated with repeated sponging with a 2% solution of potassium chlorate. On 7th day, the symptoms of poisoning appeared, and even though the treatment was stopped on that very day, the girl died on the tenth day. In another case, a 61 year old woman sucked daily on 20 tablets of potassium chlorate (324 mg each) for 6 to 10 weeks. She thought that a cancer was developing on her tongue and that she would be cured by this. She was severely poisoned. In one case, a chemist gave his wife several tablets of potassium chlorate for treating her tonsillitis. She died after five days. But probably the most interesting is the case of a 48 year old gardner who was severely poisoned in a curious way. He was using a concentrated solution of sodium chlorate in an atomizer, while a strong wind was blowing. In consequence, spray was blown on to his face and he inhaled and ingested some of the solution. Symptoms of poisoning started the same evening. He could be saved with some heroic effort on the part of the doctors, yet he could only return to full-time work at the end of about a year." "Doctor, what symptoms does one get on swallowing this poison?" "Tarun, immediately there is acute digestive upset. Vomiting is usual. It may persist for upto 48 hours. There may be severe pain behind the breast bone or in the abdomen. Red Blood Cells begin to break down and may reduce in number to half. Red cells may only be 2.5 x 1012/L in this poisoning, while normally they are 5 x 1012/L. Heinz bodies are seen in the red cells...." "What are Heinz bodies doctor?" "Tarun, Heinz bodies are nothing but denatured hemoglobin. I told you that sodium chlorate destroys hemoglobin. This destroyed or denatured hemoglobin, also known as methemoglobin precipitates in the RBCs as Heinz bodies. These bodies were first described by a German doctor Robert Heinz. Hence the name. Besides these symptoms, acute renal failure also occurs in sodium chlorate poisoning. This is in part due to direct action of chlorate on the kidney and in part due to mechanical obstruction of tubules of the kidney by hemoglobin set free from the red cells. Urine is scanty and dark brown. Total stoppage of urine may also occur." "Doctor, how much sodium chlorate is needed to kill an adult robust man?" "Tarun, about 20-35 grams would be required. And the person would die in about 4-5 days, although death can be quicker as in this case." "Oh, Doctor, now I know all about sodium chlorate. Tell me how you deduced that Radhey died of sodium chlorate poisoning?" "Tarun, the color of Radhey's body gave away the poison to me. You will agree the color is very peculiar. It is chocolate brown. This is the color of methemoglobin. So the moment I saw the chocolate color of Radhey, I knew I was looking for some poison, which converts hemoglobin to methemoglobin, and sodium chlorate is one such poison. Then I made a blood film of Radhey and saw it under the microscope. RBCs were broken, and they showed fragmentation which was expected in sodium chlorate poisoning. Numerous Heinz bodies were also seen in the RBCs. His kidneys as you can see are enlarged, as we would expect in sodium chlorate poisoning. I have made a microscopic examination of the kidneys too. And I have found that the tubules of the kidney are occluded with broken red cells and brown pigment granules. You surely know what the tubules of the kidney are. They are the microscopic tubes through which filtered blood - or urine- passes forwards. These tubules are dilated and many are completely blocked by debris. This is exactly the change that we would expect in sodium chlorate. There is no doubt that Shyam has given Sodium chlorate to Radhey." "But how could he do that? They were both having dinner together." "Tarun, Shyam was probably working with some accomplice, who was sitting outside the dinner hall probably with a mobile phone. Just when the soups were served, the accomplice phoned from his mobile to the reception desk of the dinner hall, asking for Radhey. When Radhey went to pick up the phone, Shyam quickly mixed the sodium chlorate which he already had in his possession. Radhey discovered that it was a blank call and returned to his table and started having his soup. The taste of sodium chlorate is somewhat similar to that of common salt, so one may not discover any change in taste, especially when he is already drunk as Radhey was. When he had finished his soup, Shyam and his accomplice knew it was not safe to remain there any more. So according to their pre-arranged plan, the accomplice phoned again- this time to Shyam. He took the call, came back to Radhey and told him that he had to leave as he had got some important call. The idea was to leave the scene immediately to remain out of trouble. You know the rest of the story." "Very clever indeed. But how do you know the story with such gory details?" "Tarun you will be surprised but Shyam has told us this story himself. Actually when I conducted the post-mortem, I immediately suspected I was looking for sodium chlorate. I told the police about it. They raided Shyam's house and recovered a small sachet, containing a white powder. When I examined it chemically, I discovered it was nothing but sodium chlorate. Faced with this fact, police renewed their interrogation of Shyam. Faced with all the scientific evidence against him, Shyam broke down and told these details to the police. The police are now looking for his accomplice, who is on the run." "Very clever doctor. This was a most interesting discussion doctor. Without your masterly deduction, Shyam could never have been caught. Every one would have thought that it was a case of death due to gastroenteritis. Tell me what are you going to tell me the next time?" "Tarun, next time, I would tell you about a very interesting poison- Sodium nitrite. " "