<p>The bodies of Lakshmidevi, 82, and her daughter Bhagya Rekha, 59, were disfigured beyond recognition as the women suffered 100% burns in the fire that broke out at their apartment on Tuesday, a doctor said.</p>.<p>The women could be identified only on the basis of their physique and the age of the bodies, said Dr Varghese P S, Head, Department of Forensic Medicine, St John's National Academy of Health Sciences, where the post-mortem was conducted on Wednesday.</p>.<p>"Had this been a mass-casualty incident, identification would've been very difficult as the women suffered 100% burns, our autopsies revealed. They were just charred to death rather than being asphyxiated," Dr Varghese told DH.</p>.<p>The bodies were handed over to the police around 6 pm.</p>.<p>He said the police would have to investigate the source of the fire as they found "no clues on the source".</p>.<p>"There was no trace of chemicals on the bodies either. We prepared a skin sample before handing over the bodies to the police. They can send the sample to a forensic science laboratory to investigate further. We don't suspect foul play. Finding the source of fire will be a big challenge," Dr Varghese said.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>
<p>The bodies of Lakshmidevi, 82, and her daughter Bhagya Rekha, 59, were disfigured beyond recognition as the women suffered 100% burns in the fire that broke out at their apartment on Tuesday, a doctor said.</p>.<p>The women could be identified only on the basis of their physique and the age of the bodies, said Dr Varghese P S, Head, Department of Forensic Medicine, St John's National Academy of Health Sciences, where the post-mortem was conducted on Wednesday.</p>.<p>"Had this been a mass-casualty incident, identification would've been very difficult as the women suffered 100% burns, our autopsies revealed. They were just charred to death rather than being asphyxiated," Dr Varghese told DH.</p>.<p>The bodies were handed over to the police around 6 pm.</p>.<p>He said the police would have to investigate the source of the fire as they found "no clues on the source".</p>.<p>"There was no trace of chemicals on the bodies either. We prepared a skin sample before handing over the bodies to the police. They can send the sample to a forensic science laboratory to investigate further. We don't suspect foul play. Finding the source of fire will be a big challenge," Dr Varghese said.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>
