Shraddha Walkar murder case: A Delhi Court ordering narco test for Aftab Amin Poonawala in the bone-chilling Shraddha Walkar murder case has put the spotlight on use of the specialised examination as an advanced tool for interrogation.
Know more about 'NARCO' test-
Narco test is also known as truth serum, it has been used for solving crucial cases in the past. The test involves the 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.
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- 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.
- The investigating agencies use this test after other evidences do not provide a clear picture of the case.
- According to norms, the consent of the person is also necessary for being subjected to narco test.
- The Supreme Court had ruled that narco analysis, brain mapping and polygraph tests cannot be conducted on any person without his or her consent.
- The apex court had noted in response to petitions questioning the validity of such tests, are illegal and a violation of personal liberty.
- However, statements made during narco analysis test are not admissible in the court, except under certain circumstances when the court thinks that the facts and nature of the case permit it.
- The term narco-analysis is derived from the Greek word narko (meaning 'anaesthesia' or 'Torpor') and is used to describe a diagnostic and psychotherapeutic technique that uses psychotropic drugs, particularly barbiturates.
- According to experts, during the narco test, the person's inhibitions are lowered by interfering with his or her nervous system at the molecular level. In such a sleep-like state, efforts are made to obtain probative truth about the crime.
- The dose of the injected substance in narco test is decided as per the person's sex, age, health, and physical condition.
- The person concerned is then interrogated by the investigating agencies in the presence of doctors. The revelations made during this stage are video recorded.
- The report prepared by the expert is used in the process of collecting evidence. The procedure is conducted at a government hospital, after a court order permitting the same.
- The narco analysis test was most notably used in the 2002 Gujarat riots case, Abdul Karim Telgi fake stamp paper scam, the Nithari killings case in 2007 and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case on captured terrorist Ajmal Kasab.
- According to Forensic Science Laboratory officials, during the test, first the investigator submits the case with the laboratory and briefs them.
"Then, our psychologist has a session with investigating officer. The experts interact with the suspect where he is apprised about the test as his consent is mandatory. Only when the psychologists are satisfied that the suspect has understood, he is medically examined and the process begins," an official said, adding the photography team is also sent from the laboratory.
Narco test in India: Take a look at some 'Hits' and 'misses'A narco test ordered by a Delhi court to be conducted on Aftab Ameen Poonawala, accused of butchering his live-in partner, may help investigators in getting conclusive details but such examinations have not been always resulted in startling revelations.
Here is a look at what role narco test played in investigation of following crucial cases in the past.
1. Abdul Karim Telgi fake stamp paper scam
Only a few scams created such strong ripples in Maharashtra politics as the stamp paper racket did after its kingpin Abdul Karim Telgi alleged during a narco test that NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, then a Union minister, and former state deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal received money from him. However, the narco test became redundant after Telgi recorded his statement before a chief judicial magistrate, where there was no mention of either Pawar or Bhujbal. In the videotape of the 2003 narco-analysis test, aired by TV channels in 2006, Telgi claimed to have made payments to them.
2. 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case
The lone Mumbai terror accused Ajmal Kasab arrested by police was subjected to narco analysis test to corroborate all that he had confessed in his interrogation and to get more information about the conspiracy that was being hatched from Pakistani soil. Kasab had provided details of the Mumbai terror attack plan including the training received from banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror groups and his family background, security agencies still went ahead with the test to sift facts from fiction.
His narco analysis test provided a deep insight into LeT and its masterminds including its founder Hafiz Saeed's involvement besides the propaganda used by the terror group in brainwashing poor men and their families to increase their cadre.
3. Aarushi Talwar murder case
The CBI had drawn a blank during narco-tests conducted on parents of Aarushi --Nupur and Rajesh Talwar -- as it failed to get any concrete clue which could help investigators in solving the murder case of the teenage girl. The probe agency had conducted narco test on the couple and others in 2010 while it had conducted brain mapping and lie detector tests of the Talwars in 2009. The dentist couple were convicted of murdering their 14-year old daughter Aarushi and their domestic servant Hemraj on the intervening night of May 15-16, 2008 and sentenced to serve life term. The first team of CBI had suspected that servants could have committed the crime, but the then CBI director Ashwani Kumar did not agree with the findings because of lack of evidence. The second team filed a closure report citing possible chain of events which might have taken place on the crime scene indicating role of Talwars but could not produce any forensic evidence suggesting involvement of the dentist couple.
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