A COMPARATIVE FINGERPRINT ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS OF HIMACHAL PRADESH FINGERPRINT PATTERNS IN HIMACHAL PRADESH ETHNIC GROUPS

Fingerprint is the impression left by friction ridges of the fingertips. One of the important uses for fingerprints is to help investigators link one crime scene to another involving the same person. Fingerprints are considered as crucial evidences when it comes to individual identification.The fingerprint examinatio involves analysis of various details such as fingerprint pattern types,ridge density and minutiae in order to identify an individual.This vast amount of time and efforts could be saved if the investigation proceeds in right direction.Preliminary results using fingerprint pattern dominance in particular ethnicity could help investigation proceed in right direction.This study was conducted over 100 individuals from different regions of Himachal Pradesh with 25 individuals from four different ethnic groups including Brahmins, Rajputs, Schedule Tribes and Schedule Caste. Rolled impressions were recorded and analyzed. Statistically significant database (at level p<0.05) was observed in these ethnic groups at the end of the analysis. In the end of this study, it was deduced that ethnic groups do play significant amount of role in fingerprint patterns.