Odisha: Nayagarh 'rape-murder' accused refuses to undergo narco test

BHUBANESWAR: The juvenile justice board (JJB) in Nayagarh on Friday denied SIT the permission to conduct narco-analysis test on a minor boy, accused of rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl in the district in July.
The JJB’s order came after the boy refused to grant his consent to undergo the deception detection test (DDT).
According to the Supreme Court ruling, consent of an accused is mandatory before conducting the DDTs, including narco-analysis, brain mapping and polygraph.
The SIT had on Wednesday moved the JJB, seeking permission to subject the minor boy (child in conflict with law) to narco test. As the matter was heard on Friday, the court asked the juvenile to offer his consent to undergo the test. But, he expressed his unwillingness to undergo the nacro test.
“He gave in writing to the court that he is not willing for the narco test. According to the order of the Supreme Court passed in the matter of Selvi versus State of Karnataka in 2010, the consent of accused in front of a judicial court is mandatory to conduct narco test,” an SIT officer said.
It must be noted, nacro test involves the intravenous administration of a drug such as sodium pentothal, scopolamine and sodium amytal that causes the subject to slip into a hypnotic stage. Subsequently, the accused becomes less inhibited and is more likely to disclose information, which would usually not be revealed in the conscious state.
The SIT denied the rejection of its plea for the narco test was a setback for them. “Our case is still strong. We knew the child in conflict with law would not agree for the test as his lies would have been detected. If he and his family claim he is innocent, then what is the harm in cooperating with the narco test? Had the test report (if conducted) gone in his favour, it would have been a big help for him,” the officer said.
The probe body on Friday sought the JJB's permission to subject the juvenile to brain-mapping test. “He may not agree with the brain-mapping as well. But his denial would go in favour of the investigation,” the officer said. It must be noted, the minor boy had undergone polygraph test on December 19, 2020, just a day before his arrest, following his consent. His replies during the lie-detector test were deceptive, the SIT said.