Prajapati encounter: Court reject CID's plea for narco test

A local court in Danta on Wednesday rejected an application by Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for conducting narco analysis and lie detection test on seven police officials, including an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, in the Tulsi Prajapati encounter case of 2006.

A local court in Danta on Wednesday rejected an application by Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for conducting narco analysis and lie detection test on seven police officials, including an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, in the Tulsi Prajapati encounter case of 2006.

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Judicial Magistrate S S Joshi rejected CID's plea after suspended IPS officer Vipul Agarwal, police inspector Ashish Pandya and five others refused to undergo the narco analysis and lie detection test.

According to CID, the narco and lie detection test of all seven police officials was required to know further details in the killing of Prajapati who was gunned down in Chhapri village near Ambaji in Banaskantha in December 2006 by a joint team of Gujarat and Rajasthan police.

Defense counsel Shirish Modi argued that CID's demand was irrelevant under the recent verdict of Supreme Court that no narco or lie detection test could be allowed unless the accused agrees to it.

The court has, however, extended the police custody of Pandya up to May 28 while other six officials including Agarwal were sent to judicial custody.

Prajapati was believed to be a key witness of the fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and alleged murder of his wife Kausar Bi in November 2005.