Faced With Allegations of Torture, Mumbai Police Is Increasingly Using Forensic Tests To Unravel Crimes. The Results Are A Mixed Bag, But No One’s Complaining
Mateen Hafeez | TNN
Mumbai: Suspected serial killer Ravindra Kantrulu eased back and opened up. “I killed seven, I like the colour red...,” he murmured to his interrogators, “Most of them were homosexuals, I killed them because homosexuality is against Islam.’’ It was a startling confession but Kantrulu alias Abdur Raheem was not in the lock-up. Instead, he was strapped to a bed at Victoria Hospital in Bangalore undergoing narco-analysis.Welcome to the world of forensic science. Unable to secure convictions and faced with a vigilant human rights establishment, Mumbai police is now increasingly relying on scientific procedures to solve cases. All it takes is a shot of sodium pentathol or connectivity to an electrode, and the suspect apparently reveals all that he would otherwise take three months in detention as well as some third-degree to admit.
The effectiveness is unclear but the police are using these chemical and biological processes to tackle virtually every kind of crime. Unlike earlier when they reserved its use for significant cases like the 7/11 blasts or the Telgi scam, Mumbai’s law-enforcers are employing these methods to even go into the mind of a bank robber or a suspected roadside killer. Thane (rural) police, for instance, recent ly subjected three persons accused of stealing Rs 19,000 to brain-mapping tests.
“In many cases, the accused contacts his lawyer or some human rights cell saying he is being tortured in police custody. It’s becoming difficult to use the so-called third degree method. So, we prefer doing these forensic tests which give us a clear picture of motives, details about evidence,’’ said a crime branch officer.
The tests range from DNA fingerprinting to ballistic tests, narco-analysis to brainscanning, lie-detection and analysis of voice data. Equipment used include scanners, blood pressure monitors and ECGs, all deployed to piece together various elements connected to the crime. Rukmini Krishnamurthy, te director of the state forensic science lab at Kalina, says, “The results are good. We get many secrets which policemen are usually unaware of.’’
On the downside, some of the procedures yield data that would not hold up in a court of law. Narco-analysis which involves injecting the accused with a truth serum and then conducting an interrogation while he hovers close to subconsciousness, is too suspect to enjoy legal standing. In the UK and US, such procedures are not considered valid as they induce a translevel state in which the subject has little control over what he says.
Plus, the costs involved far exceed those connected to good old detection work. In the past, before the forensic lab at Kalina was upgraded, subjects had to be taken by air to Bangalore or Chandigarh, escorted by four policemen. The overall cost for each such trip would go beyond Rs 50,000.
However, the use of such methods are becoming increasingly acceptable as they are seen to be vital tools to achieve a breakthrough in any probe. Krish Pal Raghuvanshi, who led the team investigating the 7/11 train bombings, said, “These tests give indications and directions to the probe. The reports of brain-mapping and polygraph is admissible in the court. We have got help in many cases after the suspects were subjected to these tests,’’ said Raghuvanshi.
To add to his delight, union home minister Shivraj Patil has announced that amendments will be made in the law to make data from such tests admissible in court. Mind-reading appears to have taken on a new meaning.
Results of lie-detection and brain-mapping can be presented as legal evidence. However, narco-analysis, which involves sustained interrogation of a suspect under the influence of sodium pentathol, remains outside the ambit of the law. All the following procedures require prior permission of the court and consent of the suspect.
NARCO ANALYSIS
The test is conducted in an operation theatre where the subject is administered sodium amytal or pentothal (known as truth serum) to relax his defences. An anaesthetist, psychiatrist, psychologist and nurses have to be present during the procedure.
The subject hovers between a conscious and unconscious state, in which questions are put to him by a psychologist. The questionnaire is, however, prepared by the investigators. The test lasts three to five hours and the entire process is videographed and the conversation recorded.
Most of what the subject says tends to be irrelevant or unpredictable as he has no control over his mind. According to forensic experts, it often becomes difficult to differentiate between truth and lies. And hence, the test is not admissible in a court; in US and UK, investigators prefer using lie-detectors and pyschological profiling methods instead.
BRAIN ELECTRICAL OSCILLATION SIGNATURE (BEOS) PROFILING
This is a non-invasive technique which involves monitoring the response of the subject’s mind
to various stimuli such as sound and images connected to a crime. Electrodes are placed on the head to map brainwaves while the suspect is shown video tapes — the scene of the crime, photographs of co-accused, weapons used, etc — or made to listen to the voice of an accomplice or a person connected to the crime.
The brain automatically produces a distinct response if the subject has prior knowledge of the images/sounds he’s exposed to. This test takes one and half to two hours and is done in the presence of bio-instrumentation experts and psychologists. This test leaves no side effect and is usually not admissible in court. However, in Gujarat, in a case of rape, the results of this test were admitted by the judge.
POLYGRAPH (LIE-DETECTOR)
It involves ascertaining whether the subject is telling the truth based on the monitoring of the body’s response when questions regarding the crime are asked.
When a person takes a polygraph test, four to six sensors are attached to his body. The polygraph is a machine in which multiple (poly) signals from sensors are recorded on a single strip of moving paper (graph). The sensors record the subject’s breathing rate, pulse, blood pressure and perspiration. In many cases, a polygraph also records arm and leg movement.
When the polygraph test starts, the questioner asks three or four simple questions to calm the subject’s mind. Then the real tough ones start coming. Throughout the questioning, the subject’s signals are recorded on the moving paper for experts to verify whether his pulse, blood pressure, etc are consistent with his physical and mental state.
It normally takes one to two hours and has no side effects. This test is admissible in court and is used to corroborate evidence.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILING
This test comprises discussion between the subject and experts. The psychologist tries to make the subject speak on various issues connected to his life. The process depends on the skill of the expert.
Psychological profiling is said to be a better option than narco-analysis. The experts can profile the personality learn about his background and his motivation for committing a crime. Legally, videography of this test is not required, but the procedure gets videographed at Kalina Forensic Science Lab (FSL).
FIGHTING CRIME IN THE LAB
BANGALORE
The Karnataka state CID has sent five persons for brain mapping in the last six months. Two of them were suspects in murder cases and the others were accused in anti-state activities. Some of them were also referred for narco analysis; sleuths were able to pin down the culprit in only one of the cases. In the other two, results proved negative.
DELHI
The New Delhi Police has sent less than 5 cases for brainmapping and narco-analysis in the last one year. Delhi Police additional commissioner Dependra Pathak says, “Narcoanalysis and brain-mapping are modern methods of investigation. They help in revelation of important details, help corroborate statements and clear up contradictory statements made by accused.”
HYDERABAD
Narcoanalysis and brainmapping have not really caught on with Hyderabad police. Andhra police, which subjected Krushi Bank scamster P Venkateshwara Rao to a liedetector test at the Andhra Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory after getting him extradited from Bangkok, has tried to do a narcoanalysis on him, but he has refused to grant consent.
The Times of India, March 20, 2007
