Kerala’s first woman forensic surgeon and author of Postmortem Table, Dr Sherly Vasu dies at 68

In a career spanning 35 years in Kerala’s medical education sector, Dr Sherly had conducted more than 20,000 autopsies. After retiring as head of forensic medicine at Thrissur government medical college in 2016, Sherly has been serving as the head of forensic medicine at a private medical college KMCT in Kozhikode.

Dr Sherly authored the book ‘Postmortem Table’, in which she takes the readers into her days at the mortuary. She trained in the field of “atrocities against women and children” at the St. Mary’s Hospital and Royal Infirmary (SARC), Manchester, and Greater Policing Authority in the UK. Besides, she also trained in forensic pathology, dealing with terrorism training at GUY’S Hospital, University of London and Scotland Yard Police, UK.

A native of Thodupuzha in Idukki, Dr Sherly began her career in 1982 at the forensic medicine department at the Kozhikode Medical College. A major chunk of her illustrious career was in Kozhikode, where she had attended several sensational medico-legal cases.

For decades, she had been the final word in forensic medicine for solving several sensational murder cases.

Recalling her foray into forensic medicine in late 1980s, Dr Sherly had stated in her media interactions that she never wanted to quit the world of the dead as gender had never been a hurdle. In 2016, she bagged the Vanitha Rathnam award of the state government.

Condoling her death, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Dr Sherly had helped state police to find evidence for several complex cases. Her book ‘Postmortem Table’ has been widely discussed in Kerala.