Tirath Das Dogra (IAST: Tīrath Dās Ḍōgarā, born 18 July 1947) is an Indian forensic pathologist. He was the pro-chancellor and vice-chancellor of Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University,Haryana (2013–2017).
Early life He was born to Prem Nath Dogra and Gayano Devi Dogra at Bari Brahmana, near Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir, British India, 20 kilometres from Jammu on the Basantar River (the present border with Pakistan). After the Partition of India in 1947 his father moved to Bikaner in 1959; he settled there permanently in 1961. Dogra completed Badridas Vidavatji ka Middle School Sikar and SSC in 1963 and attended M M High School Bikaner (1959 to 1963). After a year at Dungar College Bikaner, he received a degree in medicine from Sardar Patel Medical College.
Career Dogra received the first MD degree in forensic medicine from AIIMS in 1976. His areas of interest have been DNA profiling, population genetics, residual, environmental and pesticide toxicity, bioethics, pharmacovigilance, continuing medical education, suicide prevention and notes, forensic psychiatry (psychological profiling) crime-scene reconstruction. and Computational criminology He has been involved in medico-legal investigations of high-profile cases throughout India.
Dogra has presented his medico-legal opinion in cases concerning to three prime ministers: Indira Gandhi, Charan Singh and Rajiv Gandhi. He deposed as a medical witness in the Mahesh Chandra Trial Court for Assassination of Indira Gandhi for the prosecution. Although the defence (Pran Nath Lekhi, R. S. Sodhi and Ram Jethmalani) challenged Dogra's testimony, the evidence was upheld by the Supreme Court of India. In the Batla House encounter case, he used animation to present his expert opinion. Dogra went to Sri Lanka as part of a three-member Government of India team to assist the investigation of the assassination of Gamini Dissanayake, a presidential candidate. He worked with Seyed E. Hasnain, Sher Ali of NII and Anupum Raina on DNA profiling, with Sanjeev Lalwani and Chitranjan Behera assisting him with forensics. After his retirement from AIIMS, Dogra became Director general of the SGT Group of Institutions and vice-chancellor when it became a university on 15 March 2013.
Dogra is a former director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi and an authority on forensic medicine. Dogra was a member of the Medical Council of India from December 2013 till its dissolution in September 2018. Dogra was President of National Medicos Organisation Delhi State from 2012 to 2017. He was a member of the TEQ-Equivalence committee and the Administration and Grievance committee of the Medical Council of India. He was a member of the Advisory committee on MOOC's program of University Grants Commission of India New Delhi. Dogra was emeritus professor of forensic medicine and forensic sciences, professor of Andragogy and educational philosophy and advisor, Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) at SGT University Gurgaon till January 2022. Prof. T D Dogra is a member of the Rehabilitation Council of India.
Dogra held a number of positions during his tenure at AIIMS, including dean (exam), deputy director (administration), chair of the management board of AIIMS Hospitals, hostel superintendent and professor. He joined AIIMS as a resident in 1971, becoming a faculty member in 1977. Following the retirement of Jagdish Chandra on 30 June 1987, Dogra headed the department of forensic medicine and toxicology at AIIMS until his retirement on 31 July 2012.
Notable cases Dogra's forensic investigations include: Case Location YearGitanjali death caseGurgaon, Haryana20132006 Noida serial murdersNoida, Uttar Pradesh2007Ishrat Jahan encounter killingAhmedabad, Gujarat2004Death of Sohrabuddin SheikhGujarat2005Killing of Tulsiram PrajapatiGujarat20052002 Gujarat violence, Bilkis Bano case Godhra, Gujarat2002Batla House encounter caseDelhi2008Uttar Pradesh NRHM scamLucknow, Uttar Pradesh2011Nigamananda Saraswati of RishikeshRishikesh, Uttarakhand2011Ashutosh Asthana of Provident Fund Scam Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh2009 Kavita Chaudhry caseMeerut, Uttar Pradesh2007Kunal Singh (Tamil actor) suicideMumbai, Maharashtra2008 Nirupama Pathak death caseKodarma, Jharkhand2010Ansal Plaza encounterNew Delhi2002Shehla Masood case of BhopalBhopal, Madhya Pradesh20122009 Shopian rape and murder hoax Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir2009Sadiq Batcha caseChennai, Tamil Nadu2011Bhanwari Devi murder case (2011)Rajasthan2012Bhanwari Devi case (1992)Jaipur, Rajasthan1992 Harsh Baljee murderShimla, Himachal Pradesh1999Cherukuri Rajkumar (alias Azad)Adilabad, Andhra Pradesh2010Pipli gang-rape casePipli, Odisha2012Natasha Singh case reconstructionNew Delhi2002Dara Singh encounterJaipur, Rajasthan2002Ishmeet Singh (singer) death in MaldivesMaldives2008 Murder of Nitish KataraNew Delhi2002 R. K. Gupta murderDelhi2003 Prathyusha death caseHyderabad,2002Consultation with CBI prosecutors in Priyadarshini Mattoo caseDelhi1996 Consultation with CBI prosecutors in Ahmedabad Haren Pandya murder Ahmedabad20032008 Noida double murder caseNoida2008Sidhartha Continental Hotel fireNew Delhi19861996 Lajpat Nagar blastNew Delhi1996Uphaar Cinema fireNew Delhi1997 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collisionCharkhi Dadri, Haryana19962005 Delhi bombingsNew Delhi2005Jnaneswari Express train derailmentWest Bengal2012Alleged Bhandara rape-murderBhandara, Maharashtra2012Shruti Bhagvat caseAuragabad, Maharashtra2013 M. G. Rusia death caseAgra, Uttar Pradesh2009
His medico-legal cases include: Case LocationYearAssassination of Indira GandhiNew Delhi1984Beant Singh autopsy the assassin of Indira Gandhi.New Delhi1984Suicide of Kishan ChandNew Delhi1977Assassination of Jatherdar Stonkh Singh (confident of Indira Gandhi and Jarnail Singh BhindranwaleDelhi1981Assassination of Mr. and Mrs. Lalit Maken (daughter and son-in-law of Shankar Dayal Sharma)New Delhi1985Jagdev Singh Khuddian suicide Khudian1990Murder of Naina SahniNew Delhi1995Shilpi Jain and Gautam Singh death casePatna, Bihar1999Madhavrao Scindia air crashMainpuri, Uttar Pradesh2001Murder of Satyendra Dubey Gaya, Bihar2003Death of Shri ShanmugamTamil Nadu1991Assassination of Arjun DasNew Delhi19851995 kidnapping of western tourists in KashmirJammu Kashmir1995Khairlanji massacreBhandara, Maharashtra2006Death of Bibek MaitraBibek Maitra died of drug overdose IBN Live Sun, 4 June 2006 at 17:12, Updated on Mon, 5 June 2006 at 12:39 in India sectionNew Delhi2006Rahul Mahajan drug-overdose caseNew Delhi2006Bibi Jagir Kaur murderPatiala, Punjab2006Murder of Amir SinghMaham, Haryana1990Dalip Singh murder caseJaipur, Rajasthan1970Kiliroor sex scandalKochi, Kerala2006Pratul Deb MurderGuwahati Assam2005
Awards The Society of Toxicology (India) gave Dogra a Distinguished Scientist Lifetime Achievement Award in Toxicology, and he received a Distinguished Service Award from the Geriatric Society of India. He delivered the Professor G. Mehdi Oration at the 27th annual national conference of the Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri, West Bengal on 17 February 2006. Dogra delivered the Professor Jagdish Chandra Oration Award at the 12th national conference of the Indian Congress of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology on 27 September 2013 at the Government Medical College, Haldwani, Uttarakhand. Indian Congress of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology gave "Life time achievement award" to Prof Dogra on 13 September 2014.
AIIMS During Dogra's tenure as director AIIMS acquired of land in the Jajhar District of Haryana, and the recommendations of the Moily Committee were implemented. One hundred sixty faculty and 1200 other staff positions were created, a new academic building (came as Convergence Block) was planned and the CDER and JPNA Apex Trauma Center were made fully functional. An agreement with Metro was signed for a tunnel connecting AIIMS and the trauma centre. A surgical centre, maternity centre, dormitories, outpatient department and a urology centre were planned. A new developmental plan integrated with the earlier prepared Master plan was prepared and architectural process was started for its implementation. The long pending clearance from Ministry of civil aviation and urban development for construction of multistory buildings was obtained to facilitate future development of AIIMS in regard to hospital, academics, research, residential and hostels. Manmohan Singh underwent coronary-bypass Surgery at AIIMS, and Pratibha Patil underwent cataract surgery on both eyes. Dogra managed AIIMS during the most troubled times in its history; he is active in organ donation, retrieval and tracking, framing and revising rules and implementing training programs at the AIIMS Organ Retrieval Banking Organization. After succeeding Jagdish Chandra, Dogra developed DNA-profiling and toxicology laboratories. He expanded the department to ten faculty members, two scientists, twelve junior and twelve senior residents.
DNA laboratory Dogra started DNA facility at department of forensic medicine AIIMS, Delhi, in February 1991 with recruiting of Anupuma Raina as PhD student and G. Bomjen as MD student both taking DNA profiling related thesis topics, Dogra as Chief Guide and Seyed E. Hasnain of NII New Delhi as co-guide. First criminal case solved by DNA from Delhi was in 1992. The integrity and hard work of its in-charge Dr Anupuma raina gave this laboratory reliability and popularity with investigating agencies.
Medical Toxicology Laboratory Dr Dogra developed Medical Toxicological laboratory in the department of forensic medicine and toxicology in 1987. It was the first laboratory in a medical college where it was aimed to carry out analysis of samples for clinical and forensic purposes. The analytical toxicologist late H C Srivastava worked hard to get a reputation that the honourable courts ordered the tests to be conducted in this laboratory. The laboratory was well equipped with TLC, HPTLC, HPLC, GLC, Voltammetry, Atomic Absorption spectrometry etc. It worked in close collaboration with CFSL, CBI Delhi, FSL Rohini Delhi and JPN NICFS Rohini Delhi,
Crime scene reconstruction Dogra was engaged in crime scene reconstruction in a variety of cases throughout the length and breadth of the country. He reconstructed the cases pertaining to fall from a height, railway accident, traffic accidents, firearm injuries, bomb blast, asphyxial deaths etc. He examined about 2000 scene of crimes in different states of India.
Dogra's test He evolved a simple technique to identify old suspected bullet hit marks by lifting the impression using a moldable putty which neither damaged nor made it unfit for further examination of suspected firearm bullet hit marks. More than 2-year-old marks were detected by Professor Dogra at many scenes of occurrences; that is why people started calling it as a Dogra's test.
Forensic animation During the last decade of his career, he started using animation to explain his finding or observations. He tried it in Batla House encounter case, Heren Pandya case, he also attempted in Ishrat Jahan encounter killing but he could not make it in 3D animation as desired.
Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology Dogra in 1990 while forensic investigations of the death of Jathedar Jagdev Singh Khudian MP of Akali Dal (Mann), first time in collaboration with Psychiatrist and Clinical Psychologist analysed the Psychological status of deceased by getting filled a proforma developed for this purpose from his friends and family. Subsequently, he applied it in many cases, including the psychological profiling of the accused persons of 2006 Noida serial murders.
Mass grave exhumation and Forensic anthropometry and anatomy