A video of the stamp scam kingpin, Abdul Karim Telgi, undergoing a narco-analysis test shocked India a few years ago.
However, today, it's become almost standard police procedure to use basic lie-detector tests and narco-analysis when investigating high-profile criminal cases, like the ongoing probe into the Noida double murders, the Nithari case last year to the 7/11 blasts in Mumbai.
But here's what's worrying. Clinical psychiatrists across the world have raised questions about their reliability.
NIMHANS Clinical Psychologist, Dr C R Chandrashekhar says, "If a person is admant about not telling you the truth, he will give you false information even in the narco-analysis test. Then the test does not mean anything."
A NIMHANS study on some 300 criminals who underwent narco-analysis found that in nearly four out of 10 cases, people get away with lying even when in a trance-like-state induced by the "truth serum" of Sodium Pentothal. Thus, these tests are reliable only in 61 per cent of the cases
The amount of truth serum administered in each case also has a role to play. Even if 5 mg lower than the required dosage is administered, then the person undergoing the test may be in his senses and cheat.
The Indian Psychiatric Society considers narco-analysis to be a pseudo-science.
They find that one in two people can be made to believe events that never happened, and so even in the subconscious state, their brains recognise and register these lies as the truth.
Narco-analysis findings are also not admissible in court, but the police say they need these tests, to provide vital leads.
Former Chief Anti-Terrorist Squad, K P S Raghuvanshi says, "Narco-analysis is used in high profile cases because there is so much public hue and cry and public attention, and so it is critical to arrive at a conclusion correctly and quickly. When we're blank and making no headway, 61 per cent is a big percentage. During investigations of national importance like terrorism charges, it is important to be doubly sure and get a lead."
As criminals get more sophisticated, especially when it comes to white-collar crimes, police are increasingly looking to forensics to help them keep up to date. But the big question is, will forensic tests get advanced enough to prove dependable? One will have to wait and watch.
However, today, it's become almost standard police procedure to use basic lie-detector tests and narco-analysis when investigating high-profile criminal cases, like the ongoing probe into the Noida double murders, the Nithari case last year to the 7/11 blasts in Mumbai.
But here's what's worrying. Clinical psychiatrists across the world have raised questions about their reliability.
NIMHANS Clinical Psychologist, Dr C R Chandrashekhar says, "If a person is admant about not telling you the truth, he will give you false information even in the narco-analysis test. Then the test does not mean anything."
A NIMHANS study on some 300 criminals who underwent narco-analysis found that in nearly four out of 10 cases, people get away with lying even when in a trance-like-state induced by the "truth serum" of Sodium Pentothal. Thus, these tests are reliable only in 61 per cent of the cases
The amount of truth serum administered in each case also has a role to play. Even if 5 mg lower than the required dosage is administered, then the person undergoing the test may be in his senses and cheat.
The Indian Psychiatric Society considers narco-analysis to be a pseudo-science.
They find that one in two people can be made to believe events that never happened, and so even in the subconscious state, their brains recognise and register these lies as the truth.
Narco-analysis findings are also not admissible in court, but the police say they need these tests, to provide vital leads.
Former Chief Anti-Terrorist Squad, K P S Raghuvanshi says, "Narco-analysis is used in high profile cases because there is so much public hue and cry and public attention, and so it is critical to arrive at a conclusion correctly and quickly. When we're blank and making no headway, 61 per cent is a big percentage. During investigations of national importance like terrorism charges, it is important to be doubly sure and get a lead."
As criminals get more sophisticated, especially when it comes to white-collar crimes, police are increasingly looking to forensics to help them keep up to date. But the big question is, will forensic tests get advanced enough to prove dependable? One will have to wait and watch.
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