Narco test in India: Hits and misses!

New Delhi, Nov 17 (PTI) 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. PTI GJS ZMN