Forensic Pathology of Unexpected and Unexplained Deaths

Dr Sudhir K Gupta is the Professor & Head, Department Of Forensic Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. He excelled right from his undergraduate times, securing a Gold Medal in the MBBS examination. He completed his post-Graduation from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India and was awarded Diplomate in National Board. He is a well-known teacher and researcher in AIMS, New Delhi for the past 30 years and has also been recognized by the Indian Association of Medicolegal Experts. He has worked towards sensitization of the doctors working in the mortuaries to handle the deceased in addition to inculcating an aura of respect and teaching the doctors how to treat their work with utmost dignity. Ever since he took the mantle of the Head of Department of Forensic Medicine in 2013, he started to work towards converting the AIIMS Mortuary into a Centre of Excellence for Forensic studies. He remains member of many State service commission and Union service commission in confidential assignments. Dr Sudhir K Gupta is the pioneer of Virtual Autopsy in India, by establishing a dedicated AIIMS & ICMR Centre of Advanced Research and Excellence in Virtual Autopsy, a first of its kind in India and South Asia. He has also been awarded a fellowship from the Windsor University, Canada. His work has been internationally recognized across the globe from Australia to the United States of America.

Dr Sudhir K Gupta has been associated with AIIMS for more than a quarter of century and has used the opportunity to promote progress in the field of Forensic Medicine. He has served the Nation and has helped in bringing justice through Forensic investigations in various challenging cases in partnership with the CBI, NIA, NHRC, Delhi Police, various state police and all the levels of judiciary. He has served at AIIMS teaching MBBS, MD, PhD students and providing specialized training to National and International doctors. Besides India, he has also received recognition for his work in the field of Forensic Medicine by Coroners Association of Europe, America, Scotland Yard Police-UK, FBI and police of other countries like Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, and all Asian countries. He has been recognized by American Association of Surgeons and was invited in USA for training in Emergency and Trauma Care in 2005 with CME credit and was even made a member of technical specification committee for initiating Trauma Centre, AIIMS in 2005.The Forensic Medicine Department has attained new horizons under his stewardship and has established various new facilities such as the 24 hours embalming facility, forensic radiology unit, Virtual Autopsy unit, DNA laboratory and modern toxicology laboratory. He has promoted the establishment of cadaver organ retrieval facility for therapeutic transplantation. Several other facilities like modular odourless autopsy suite are also in the process of being established. Recently the Delhi High Court expressed its gratitude and appreciated his efforts for preserving and conducting a third autopsy on an Indian Citizen about 14 months after his death in Saudi Arabia. He has published more than 150 scientific papers in different National and International Medical Journals and has six Chapters in Books and Textbook of Legal Medicine. He has authored three Books titled, 'Forensic Medicine and Toxicology' by Universities Press, 'Forensic Pathology of Asphyxial Deaths' and 'Forensic Pathoradiology of Virtual Autopsy' by CRC Press of USA. Under his headship, a record number of cornea donations has taken place in the time period of 2013 to 2021 at AIIMS, New Delhi. He is working on a research project to assess the viability of different organs and tissues after death for transplantation purposes. As a doctor one of his missions is to establish a breakthrough cadaver organ retrieval facility which would save countless lives. He has collaborated with an NGO to provide free hearse van services to help in the cremation of the deceased who belong to the poor section of society. Dr Sudhir Kumar Gupta holds the record of being the first autopsy surgeon to be awarded fellowship diploma by International College of Surgeons, Chicago. He has developed an ultra-modern toxicology lab with analytical instruments like GCHS, HPLC, Trace metal analyser, UV visible double beam spectro-photometry, TLC, Biochemistry analyser, Microwave digestion unit. The laboratory is currently serving as a nodal centre for alcohol estimation in MLC cases of South and Southeast Delhi and is a registered centre for estimation of Mercury in biological samples for global Mercury Lab databank as per UNEP. He was awarded Medical Doctor of the year in 2010.