A forensic anthropological approach to study the extent of sex and ethnic variations in fingerprint minutiae details in two Himalayan Himachal Pradesh populations

Abstract

The present study entitled, A Forensic Anthropological Approach to Study the Extent of Sex and Ethnic Variations in Fingerprint Minutiae Details in Two Himalayan (Himachal Pradesh) Populations has been carried out with an aim to study the fingerprint minutiae type through a forensic anthropological perspective and to formulate sex and ethnicity prediction models, besides, assessment of bilateral asymmetry for both the sexes and ethnic groups. In the present study, level I and level II details of fingerprints have been studied (including fingerprint indices and ridge counts) thoroughly for Rajput and Brahmin ethnic groups. The results of the present study are useful in biological anthropology as well as forensic science. The study presents the biological variability of the fingerprint pattern types and the minutiae in the two ethnic communities of North India. Some inferences may be drawn to estimate the sex and ancestry on the basis of the results of the present study. newline