A facial reconstruction technique pioneered by a Russian anthropologist in the mid-20th century has helped a team of city doctors recreate the face of a murder victim and assist the police in nabbing the accused. A body with the head severed and skin on the face peeled off was found in Dongral Tekdi area in Ambernath on April 10. The doctors then made a model of the face to help the police identify the victim as Bindresh Prajapati.

Earlier this month, the police arrested Prajapati’s wife Savitri, her paramour Kisankumar Kanauija, and their friend Rajesh Yadav in the case. The accused admitted to killing Prajapati, cutting his head off and peeling the skin off his face to make identification difficult for the police.

Dr. Harish Pathak, Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine and Taxology at KEM Hospital, said the life-size model of Prajapati’s face, which helped the police crack the case, was created over the course of three weeks with the assistance of his team comprising Dr. Hemlata Pande, Dr. Manoj Parchake and Dr. Shashank Tyagi.

Dr. Pathak said the technique they used to recreate the face was developed by Mikhail Gerasimov (1907-1970), who was interested in reconstructing the faces of the deceased. Gerasimov used to collect skulls and recreate the facial features (eyes, ears, mouth, and nose) by shaping muscles, cartilage and skin layer by layer. After creating a graphic reconstruction of the face, Gerasimov would create the sculptural reconstruction using modelling clay.

Dr. Pathak said that people started noticing that his models were remarkably similar to the actual persons. He said, “Over time, the technique [Anatomical Russian Method] was adopted in forensic science to identify murder victims with disfigured faces. The process, however, is not used much today as comparison of DNA profiles has advanced as a science.”

Dr. Pathak said, “Once we got the victim’s skull from the police, we first created a replica using Plaster Of Paris. We then referred to scientific data on the thickness of muscles and skin on the face of an average Indian man. Then using clay, we created layers on the replica and formed a basic face. Based on the dental condition and sutures of the skull, we estimated his age and added wrinkles to the model.”

Dr. Pathak added that similar data was obtained on the colour of the eyes and preferred hairstyle of men. He said, “Eyes of men in this region are usually black or brown. So we added eyes that were a mix of the two colours. We also added a rough hairstyle preferred by men in that particular age-group. Once the model was complete, we digitally scanned it so that other hairstyles could be added if needed.”

The police circulated the image of the model in and around Ambernath. Finally, a resident of the area called the police and said that a man whose facial features matched with that in the image had been missing since April. The police went on to arrest the three accused who admitted to killing Prajapati as he had learnt about Savitri’s extramarital affair with Kanauija.

The three accused, who were charged with murder and destruction of evidence under the Indian Penal Code, have been remanded in police custody till December 18.