Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42244059›Full record

ArticleJournal of forensic sciences2026

Illegal electric fencing acting as a death trap in a suspected homicide.

Harshwardhan Khushalrao Khartade, Priyanka Meshram, Shikha Shrivastava, Mohammed Akbar N J, Vikas Meshram

Abstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of forensic sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Harshwardhan Khushalrao KhartadeDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Government Medical College, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India.
Priyanka MeshramDepartment of Community Medicine, Abhishek I Mishra Memorial Medical College and Reasearch, Bhilai, Chhatisgarh, India.
Shikha ShrivastavaDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Shyam Shah Medical College, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Mohammed Akbar N JDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Jodhpur, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
Vikas MeshramDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Jodhpur, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4917-2148

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Electrocution fatalities most commonly occur in domestic or occupational settings. When such deaths are found in remote outdoor locations, they often raise suspicion of homicide or deliberate body disposal. Deaths due to illegal electric fencing are rare and usually accidental, occurring in rural or forest-fringe agricultural areas. Fatalities resulting specifically from direct tapping of high-voltage transmission lines into fences are exceedingly uncommon and sparsely documented in the forensic literature. We report a case of an unidentified decomposed male body recovered from a secluded mountainous area, initially suspected to be a homicidal dumping. An autopsy and clothing examination revealed characteristic high-voltage electrical injuries. The absence of an electrical source at the recovery site suggested postmortem relocation of the body. Subsequent investigation identified an illegally electrified farm fence connected directly to an overhead high-voltage line. The victim had accidentally come into contact with the fence at night and died instantly. To evade legal consequences, the farmer and his associates disposed of the body at a distant location to simulate a suicide. This case highlights the importance of integrating autopsy findings, clothing examination, and scene reconstruction to determine the cause and manner of death in concealed electrocution due to illegal electric fencing.

Indexed as

Electric InjuriesHomicideForensic PathologyHumansMaleautopsybody concealmentforensic pathologyhigh‐voltage electrocutionillegal electric fencing

Identifiers

PMID42244059
PMCPMC13534924

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.