Despite Punjab recording high crime rates, its medico-legal infrastructure remains stretched, with only four of the state’s 23 districts having forensic experts at government hospitals, leaving 19 districts without a dedicated expert, according to available departmental data.Ideally, one forensic expert is required at each government hospital handling medico-legal cases. Amritsar has two experts, while Gurdaspur and Mohali have one each. Another expert is posted at the chemical laboratory in Kharar. Three medical students are temporarily holding charge at Dasuya, Bathinda and Phagwara until March 2027.Medical colleges have better staffing, with forensic experts also serving as faculty. Rajindra Medical College and Hospital, Patiala and Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot, have seven experts each. Government Medical College, Amritsar, has six, while Dr BR Ambedkar State Institute of Medical Sciences, Mohali, has three.In districts without forensic experts, specialists from Surgery, Orthopaedics, ENT, Skin, Ophthalmology and Microbiology departments are required to perform post-mortems after attending their outpatient duties. This adds to their workload and can disrupt regular hospital services.In specialised cases, district hospitals arrange experts from medical colleges. In Ludhiana, Civil Hospital authorities seek assistance from Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Christian Medical College and Hospital and Employees’ State Insurance Corporation Hospital. The request moves through the Civil Surgeon, adding to the paperwork and potentially delaying medico-legal reports.Ludhiana has two sanctioned forensic posts, one each at Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, and Civil Hospital, Khanna. Both have remained vacant since their respective incumbents were transferred. Dr Charankamal Singh was transferred from Ludhiana Civil Hospital in September 2024, while Dr Gurvinder Kakkar, posted at Civil Hospital, Khanna, was transferred in May 2025. Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, receives around 30-40 medico-legal cases daily, with 7-10 autopsies conducted on average. A hospital specialist said doctors regularly have to leave outpatient duties and surgeries to perform autopsies. “The hospital urgently needs a dedicated forensic expert,” the specialist said.Senior Medical Officer Dr Akhil Sareen said the hospital had already written to the authorities seeking a forensic expert. “Till then, our specialist staff and experts from the medical colleges are doing the needful,” he said.