Parl security breach: Court posts for Jan 5 Delhi Police's plea for polygraph test of 6 accused

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Tuesday said that it will hear on January 5 Delhi Police’s application seeking permission to conduct a polygraph test of the six people arrested in connection with the December 13 Parliament security breach case.

Police had moved the application on December 28, 2023, before Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur of Patiala House Courts seeking permission to conduct a polygraph test.

The application was moved on the plea that the investigators need to get more details to make the case strong and gather more evidence besides unearthing the entire conspiracy.

All the six accused – Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde, Neelam Devi Azad, Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat – were presented before the judge amid tight security.

Police have sought permission for conducting brain mapping and Narco analysis of Manoranjan and Sagar. The two had burst yellow smoke canisters on the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack after jumping into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors’ gallery before they were overpowered by the MPs present in the House.

Two others -- Azad and Shinde -- also burst smoke canisters and raised slogans outside Parliament. Jha is believed to be the mastermind of the entire plan, who reportedly also fled with the mobile phones of the four others from the Parliament, sources had said.

On Tuesday, the court adjourned the matter as the court-appointed legal aid counsel was not present. All six are currently in police custody till January 5.

A polygraph test, commonly known as a lie detector test, involves recording physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, and respiration while the individual under scrutiny responds to a series of questions.

After each response, forensic scientists provide their opinion, based on the recorded readings, regarding the truthfulness or falsehood of the accused person's statements.

“If the polygraph test fails to yield the desired results, investigators suggest that the police might proceed to request for a Narco test, a step observed in several prior cases,” a police source had said.

Narco analysis, also known as ‘truth serum’, entails administering a drug intravenously (such as sodium pentothal, scopolamine, and sodium amytal), inducing various stages of anaesthesia in the person undergoing the test.

During the hypnotic stage, the individual becomes less inhibited and is more likely to disclose information that would typically remain undisclosed in a conscious state.

Investigating agencies deploy this test when other evidence fails to provide a clear understanding of the case.

Earlier, the public prosecutor had said that Kumawat was involved in destruction of mobile phones and was trying to spread anarchy in the country.

The court had noted that Kumawat was involved in the conspiracy for the last two years and acknowledged the Public Prosecutor's submission that his custody was required to unearth the entire conspiracy.

It was further submitted that the accused wanted to create anarchy in the country so that they could compel the government to meet their unjust and illegal demands.

“He was in contact with other persons in hatching the conspiracy for the last two years. He had helped mastermind Jha in the destruction of mobile phones to destroy evidence and to hide the larger conspiracy,” the Public Prosecutor had said.

Kumawat was arrested on December 16 on charges of destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy. Manoranjan is from Mysore, Sagar is a resident of Lucknow, Neelam is from Haryana's Jind, while Amol hails from Maharashtra's Latur. Jha is a native of Bihar.