Shraddha Walkar murder: No narco test for Aftab Poonawala today; will first undergo polygraph exam
Shraddha Walkar murder: No narco test for Aftab Poonawala today; will first undergo polygraph exam
New Delhi: The narco analysis test on Aftab Amin Poonawala, accused in Shraddha Walkar murder case in the national capital, will not be conducted on Monday (21 November), the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) said. The 28-year-old will have to undergo polygraph test before the narco test for which his consent is needed.
“We are not conducting the narco test on Aftab today,” said FSL Assistant Director Sanjeev Gupta.
Punit Puri, also an assistant director at the FSL, said: “Before narco test we need to conduct a polygraph test for which we need subject’s consent. Court has permitted narco test and for polygraph test we’re still awaiting permission. Once we receive permission, everything else will be done in 10 days.”
“We have been directed by Delhi Police and our Director to process this case fast. We have been working on some parameters that are important before conducting the narco test,” Gupta said.
Assistant Director Sanjeev Gupta further said they have received request for the narco test “and we have started our work as well. Our director Deepa Varma has instructed to take this case on priority.”
“There was a meeting on Sunday between the FSL and the police team and everything has been decided but some parameters need to be completed before the narco test and they have been informed to the police. As soon they complete them we can do narco,” he said.
Explaining the narco test, Rajneesh Gupta, the FSL crime scene in-charge, said it is a lengthy process with various disciplines such as medical practitioners involved as this is done in the operation theatre.
“Experts from FSL, photo division, narco specialists are there so all teams work together and their consent is also needed to work in coordination. Our officers are already having meeting with all departments to take their consents and when we get it we will have a date with us which we will inform you,” news agency PTI quoted Rajneesh Gupta as saying.
On Sunday, FSL officials held an extensive discussion with the Delhi Police team probing the Shraddha Walker murder case.
For the unversed, Aftab’s five-day police custody ends on Tuesday and the Delhi Police is running against time to get the test conducted
Where will Aftab Poonawala’s narco test be conducted?
Aftab’s narco analysis test will be conducted at Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital in Delhi’s Rohini.
Must Read: ‘She blocked me on FB when I told her Aftab flaunted his Hindu girlfriends on social media’
On 17 November, a Delhi court in an order had directed the city police to complete the narco analysis test within five days and made it clear that it cannot use any third degree measure on him.
What is narco analysis test?
Also known as truth serum, Narco analysis, involves intravenous administration of a drug (such as sodium pentothal, scopolamine and sodium amytal) that causes the person undergoing it to enter into various stages of anaesthesia.
In the hypnotic stage, the person becomes less inhibited and is more likely to divulge information, which would usually not be revealed in the conscious state.
Why is narco analysis test conducted?
The narco analysis test is being conducted after other evidences do not provide a clear picture of the case to the investigating agencies.
The Delhi Police had sought Aftab’s narco analysis test as his responses during interrogation were “deceptive” in nature.
The Supreme Court has ruled that narco analysis, brain mapping and polygraph tests cannot be conducted on any person without his or her consent.
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Also, statements made during narco analysis test are not admissible as primary evidence in the court, except under certain circumstances when the bench thinks that the facts and nature of the case permit it.
What is polygraph test?
A polygraph, also known as a lie detector, is a device that records physiological phenomena such as blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiration of a human subject as he answers questions from an operator; the data is then used to determine whether or not the subject is lying.
The test at times also records the perspiration of a person and arm as well as leg movement.
As per Britannica, the lie detector, which has been used in police interrogation and investigation since 1924, is still controversial among psychologists and is not always judicially acceptable,
How is polygraph test conducted?
According to HowStuffWorks, in polygraph test four to six sensors are attached to a person who is taking the test. A polygraph is a machine that records multiple (“poly”) signals from sensors on a single strip of moving paper (“graph”).
The questioner asks three or four simple questions to establish the norms for the person’s signals when the polygraph test begins. The polygraph examiner then gradually puts forward the real questions and during this, all of the person’s signals are recorded on the moving paper throughout the interrogation.
With inputs from PTI
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