Dr B. Umadathan - Dead Men Tell Tales: The Memoir of a Police Surgeon

With folded hands, I dedicate this book to the memory of Professor George Paul, professor of forensic medicine, police surgeon and the principal of Kottayam Medical College. He loved me like a brother for thirty years and left all his loved ones bereft with his untimely death.

HUMANS TREAD THE PATH OF CAIN

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, Lets go out to the field. While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Then the Lord said to Cain, Where is your brother Abel?

I dont know, he replied. Am I my brothers keeper?

The Lord said, What have you done? Listen! Your brothers blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brothers blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.

Cain said to the Lord, My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.

BIBLE, OLD TESTAMENT: GENESIS (4:8-14)

Contents

O ru Police Surgeonte Ormakkurippukal written by my friend, well-wisher and guide Dr B. Umadathan is an autobiography that tells us about some experiences in his professional life. We see the efforts made by a forensic surgeon to unravel the mysterious deaths of unfortunate people who lost their lives under suspicious circumstances.

Dr Umadathan never hesitated to dispel suspicions and reveal the culprit, even if the shadow of suspicion fell on an investigating officer or the doctor who had conducted the post-mortem. When you read this book you will realize that he was a man with a pure heart. Even when he was wrongly accused because someone held a grudge against him, or due to some misunderstanding, he never gave up his steadfast faith in the scientific principles of forensic science.

I think Dr Umadathan chose forensic medicine because he wanted to be a teacher like his father. He was also greatly influenced by the dynamic Dr Kanthaswamy, who was the first forensic surgeon in Kerala.

These memoirs capture the readers attention and create an aura of suspense. The book has been written in a simple style and can be read in a single sitting, as though it is a detective story.

It is important to remember that Dr Umadathans aptitude for teaching helped many police officers learn the basic lessons of forensic science. He wrote many books on the principles of the subject for officers, and the texts were well received and appreciated.

It is a known fact that when there was court action against Crime Branch Inspector General G. Jayaram Padikkal in the Rajan case, the glory of the department dimmed. The investigation officers became disheartened and the investigations lost vigour. It was when the crime branch was going through this bleak period that Dr Umadathan became the medico-legal adviser to the police department in July 1987, and we became colleagues. He held this post for seven years, and, in 1998, retired as the director of medical education in Kerala. Till he left for Mauritius to become the principal of a medical college there, he discharged his duties in both capacities.

It must be specially mentioned that he was able to find vital clues in complex cases, and by keen observation and scientific analysis of evidence, was able to give an expert opinion. I would like to underline the fact that Dr Umadathan was the most efficient medico-legal adviser in the police department.

I dont see Dr Umadathan as a mere forensic expert. He was a medical detective who cooperated with the investigating officers, and he was someone who was often keener than the officers to visit the scene of crime. He would collect minute evidence and give expert advice, which would expedite the investigation. The Kerala police was able to utilize his vast knowledge of forensic medicine. I have long felt that Dr Umadathan was best suited for the profession of a detective.

It was in 199192, when I was deputy inspector general at the crime branch headquarters, that I was able to collaborate with him in several investigations. We discussed many cases that could not be solved by the crime branch, and scrutinized the evidence. The case of the pastors wife mentioned in Chapter 13, is one such case. It was Dr Umadathans intuition that told him that the pastor might have got the cyanide with which he killed his wife, from the jewellers shop, which was right next to his siddha medical store. It was again his intuition that told him that aviation fuel might have been used to kill the doctor, in a case that he talks about in Chapter 37.

Like a magician he used the technique of superimposition to recreate the face of a decomposed or charred body. During a time when videos were not available, he recreated a dead persons face using photography and medical principles to establish their identity. Many cases were solved thanks to this. His efforts helped establish several identities, like Chackos identity in the Sukumara Kurup case, that of Radhakrishnan in Kilimanoor, Sreebudhan in Pooyapally, the visa agent Achankunju, Gracy, who belonged to Pala, Yohannan from Chengamanad, and the bank officer Soman.

He also used a technique never used before when, with a metal detector, he found a bullet in Chavakkad Johnnys dead body. The sessions court praised him for his efforts in this case. Dr Umadathans efforts helped the Kerala police, especially the crime branch to a certain extent, to regain the trust of the people.

These memoirs are a mine of knowledge and because Dr Umadathan has such wide experience in his domain, the reader will end up learning the intricacies of forensic medicine. What is superimposition? How does a lie detector work? The importance of strands of hair and fibre in investigations, the principles of ballistics, the difference in the wounds that occur if someone is pushed down from a height, as opposed to when the person jumps down.

All investigative officers must read this book. Dr Umadathan gives a clear warning with clear examples that we must not be swayed by false complaints. He also gives examples of how different people react in different situations. In several chapters he reminds us that a crime can never be hidden for a long time. Wine or women will end up loosen tongues. Medical students, criminal lawyers and forensic experts must read this book. A layperson can read it like a detective story. This is Dr Umadathans Oru Police Surgeonte Ormakkurippukal.

Thiruvananthapuram
1 March 2010

K.P. Somarajan IPS
DGP Vigilance

A Fruitful Journey

P rofessor of forensic medicine, police surgeon, medico- legal adviser to the Kerala police, principal of Trivandrum Medical College, director of medical studies of the government of Kerala, medico-legal consultant to Libya, and a final appointment in a brilliant career as professor and head of the forensic medicine department at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochifor me, Umadathan was more than all this. He was one of my most brilliant students when I was a professor of English at Trivandrum University College between 196062. (Our hero was then a good-looking young man, quite humble in demeanour and an excellent orator.)

The eldest son of Professor K. Balarama Paniker, one of the best Sanskrit scholars Kerala has seen in the last century, he was also the son-in-law of my family doctor, Mavelikkara K.C. Kunjiraman Vaidyeran ace ayurvedic practitioner. To me, he was like a younger brother, and I watched his career graph with pleasure and pride.