NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Thursday approached a court seeking permission to conduct a polygraph test of all the six people arrested in connection with the Parliament security breach case.
A polygraph test, commonly known as a lie detector test, is a procedure in which physiological indicators of a person such as blood pressure, pulse, and respiration, are recorded while the alleged is answering a series of questions.
For every answer, the forensic scientists would share their opinion, based on readings, whether the accused person was truthful or lying. Investigators say that if the polygraph test does not provide the desired results, the police may even go ahead and seek Narco test, as has been seen in several cases earlier.
Narco analysis, also known as truth serum, 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 anesthesia.
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 evidence does not provide a clear picture of the case.
The application for the polygraph test was moved before the Additional Sessions Judge, who posted the matter for January 2, noting that the counsel representing some of the accused was not present. The police had brought all the six accused before the court during the hearing of the plea.
The accused, Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde, Neelam Devi, Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat, are currently in police custody till January 5. Notably on December 13, Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D had intruded Parliament while two others – Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi – released coloured smoke from canisters.
On the day of the incident, Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat were also present near Parliament and they had taken away the mobile phones of the four other accused just before executing their plan and made a hasty getaway. Both of them surrendered before the police, a day later.
