Out with the truth

In police circles it is seen as an alternative to the third degree method. Some human rights activists say it is a form of psychological third degree, never mind the absence of pain.

TWO forensic science labs in the country currently provide narcoanalysis facilities, at Ahmedabad and Bangalore. The state run Bangalore Forensic Science Lab has been doing the bulk of the tests, analysing as many as 248 subjects from across the country, beginning in 2002.

What began as a Ph.D project to study narcoanalysis, and other psychological methods as crime solution tools, has now evolved into a key department for forensic psychology at the Bangalore FSL. The then Ph.D student, S Malini, now armed with a doctorate from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, heads the department.

The big break for truth serum tests at the Bangalore lab was in mid-2002, when the Karnataka Special Task Force were trying to gain leads on forest brigand Veerappan’s operations. A Veerappan aide was brought to Bangalore and administered sodium pentothal under the watchful eyes of anaesthetists at the government-run Victoria Hospital. Lulled into a semi-trance, he provided straight answers to questions on Veerappan’s hideouts. Based on these, the STF managed to locate places where Veerappan had stashed his loot.

‘‘The Veerappan case was our first big success with narcoanalysis. It showed that sodium pentothal which is commonly used as an anaesthetic, can also induce an uninhibited state of mind if given in the right dosage,’’ says forensic psychologist Dr Malini.

Requests for the truth serum test have since been constantly flowing in— from the police in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka itself, Kerala, Maharashtra and Punjab. More often than not the requests are made in cases that involve ‘white-collar’ criminals.

‘‘Records in Karnataka over the last few years show that lock-up deaths have reduced because instead of the third degree, police is now using modern techniques for interrogation like narco-analysis,’’ says Karnataka additional director general of police (crime and technical services) M K Srivastava.

BUT narcoanalysis has been put under the legal scanner too. Maharsahtra MLA Anil Gote, Maharashtra deputy commissioner of police Dilip Kamath—both named in the Telgi scam challenged the test in the Supreme Court and obtained stay orders. While the court is yet to pronounce a final verdict on narcoanalysis, some High Courts have upheld its use. The Bombay High Court in the case of Ramachandra Reddy and others—accused in the Telgi fake stamp scam—upheld its use. Narcoanalysis is often challenged as a violation of the fundamental right to freedom enshrined in Article 20 (3) of the Constitution—which states that ‘No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself’. Several courts have however ruled that the right is not absolute.

Not everyone is however impressed by the truth serum. ‘‘For years policemen have forced confessions from people using drugs or alcohol. There is nothing new in the methodology. It is just a little more sophisticated,’’ says a retired Karnataka police official.