Baba Siddique murder: What is the bone ossification test that the accused underwent?

Following the high-profile murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique, a bone ossification test confirmed that one of the accused, who had claimed to be a minor, is in fact an adult.

The test was ordered by a Mumbai court, which has remanded the two shooters and one co-conspirator to judicial custody until October 21. However, the court restricted police from questioning one accused, Dharmaraj Kashyap, until it was determined whether he was a minor. He has now been sent to judicial custody with others.

So, what exactly is a bone ossification test, and how does it help determine age? Here’s a closer look at the forensic method.

Kashyap and his links to the case

During recent court proceedings, Metropolitan Magistrate Suyojit Tayade directed the Mumbai Crime Branch to perform a bone ossification test on Dharmaraj Radhe Kashyap after he claimed to be a minor.

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Kashyap who hails from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, claimed before the court that he was a 17-year-old and should therefore be tried as a minor. Public prosecutor Gautam Gaikwad contested this claim, arguing that Kashyap is 21, based on documents found with him.

The Mumbai Crime Branch said that they had found two Aadhaar cards with the accused – one matching the name he had given the police, and the other bearing another name that showed his birth year as 2003, suggesting he was 21 years old, reported India Today.

Further, the accused did not have a birth certificate or school-leaving certificate to verify his age, the court then went ahead with a bone ossification test to determine his age.

In addition to Kashyap, authorities have apprehended the shooter 23-year-old Gurmail Singh. They have also arrested the ‘prime conspirator’ 28-year-old Pravin Lonkar from Pune. While the third shooter connected to the case, Shiv Kumar (also known as Shiva Gautam), is still at large.

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The police have also identified another accused, Mohammad Zeeshan Akhtar, 21, who is believed to have orchestrated the murder.

All accused told police that they belonged to the gang run by jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, which claimed responsibility for killing former Maharashtra minister Siddique outside his Mumbai office on Saturday night. The police have confirmed it as a contract killing and are investigating possible links.  

One of the gang’s alleged members, Shubham Lonkar, brother of Pravin Lonkar, also posted a message, stating that the motive was Siddique’s connection to Bollywood actor Salman Khan, whom the group has been targeting for a long time.

During the court hearing, Gaikwad described the murder as “planned in a film-style manner,” underscoring the seriousness of the crime. He added, “The incident has shocked the city. It is a very serious crime. A former minister has been killed, despite having a police bodyguard”.

What is a bone ossification test?

Ossification is the natural process of bone formation that starts in infancy and continues through adolescence.

During this time, various bones in the body undergo calcification, or hardening, as essential minerals like calcium and phosphorus deposit in the bone structure. As a person ages, this process slows, and bones eventually become more fragile.

Due to the predictable nature of this process, scientists use this method to estimate a person’s age based on the degree of bone ossification in specific bones, The Week reports.

This test involves examining x-rays of certain bones, such as the clavicle, sternum, and pelvis, which undergo significant structural changes over time. These bones are chosen because they tend to undergo significant structural changes as a person ages.

The clavicle, for instance, is a long bone connecting the shoulder blade to the sternum. It undergoes a gradual fusion of growth plates as a person matures. By studying which growth plates in the clavicle have fused, forensic professionals can estimate an individual’s age.

The sternum, or breastbone, also ossifies in a series of segments known as sternebrae. These segments fuse over time, and by examining the number of fused sternebrae in an x-ray, experts can make age approximations. Similarly, the pelvis provides age-related clues as its various bones fuse during development.  

In a forensic setting, professionals like anthropologists use these bone markers to estimate age within a particular range by comparing x-ray results with known patterns of bone fusion, aiding in age verification for legal cases.

It is also used in some medical settings, such as to assess skeletal maturity in children with growth disorders.

However, this test has a drawback

While the ossification test is a useful tool for age estimation, it has limitations.

Individual differences in the rate and pattern of bone ossification mean that results are not always consistent. Conditions such as malnutrition, disease, or injury can further influence bone development, complicating age assessments.

The Times of India reported that in 2016, a court ruled that an ossification test result alone cannot conclusively determine an accused’s age, especially in cases where age could impact sentencing.

The court noted, “Courts have always held that the evidence afforded by radiological examination is…a useful guiding factor… but it is not of a conclusive and incontrovertible nature and…subject to a margin of error. Medical evidence as to the age of a person though a very useful guiding factor is not conclusive and has to be considered along with other circumstances."

With input from agencies