Kewal Krishan (forensic anthropologist)
Dr. Kewal Krishan, an Indian forensic anthropologist, is Associate Professor of physical anthropology and former Chair of Department of Anthropology at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. He has contributed to the development of forensic anthropology in India. He is one of the very few forensic anthropology experts of the nation. He earned his PhD in Forensic Anthropology in 2003 from Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. He is an elected fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
His published research deals with the analysis of various aspects of human morphology and their forensic applications in Indian populations. He has contributed articles to the Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences 2nd Edition and Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine 2nd Edition published by Elsevier in 2013 and 2016 respectively.
His most cited work pertains to the forensic podiatry of the north Indian population. In one of his noteworthy work in 2008, he studied the effect of body weight and additional body weight on the footprints and its interpretation in crime scene investigation.
He also established some of the unique and individualistic characteristics of the footprints which are helpful in identification of criminals. He devised and calculated the effect of limb asymmetry on estimation of stature in forensic examinations. He devised a novel index called Heel-Ball Index in the forensic literature emphasizing its relevance in sex determination. He has published unique work on the footprint ridge density of Indian population and its significance in forensic identification.
