Role of Product of Conception and DNA Profiling in Forensic Cases: A Case Study

Abstract

At this present time, sexual assault on minors has become a major concern in our country. Social unawareness of victims and perpetrators is an emerging issue in sexual assault cases. It has been observed that most of the cases are being reported in the age group of 17–19 years old. Whenever such cases are reported to law enforcement agencies, the victims are brought to hospitals for the termination of pregnancy. In such cases, the product of conception can play a vital and key role in ascertaining paternity. In this present research work, we considered a case in which three different samples were preserved with different preservatives. The extensive problem was to determine the fleshy perceptible as POC because most segments of this material were from mothers. At the present moment, this study concludes that most of the samples provided were not substantive POC. These are part of the placenta and other fleshy material of the mother. Out of three samples, two gave the autosomal STR profile of the victim instead of POC, while one sample was able to conclude the result based on one set of alleles of autosomal STR (Short Tandem Repeat) matching the father. Two of the last samples gave the same STR Y profile to the father.