The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) may have got a preliminary permission to conduct a polygraph test on a man accused of raping and murdering a 31-year-old doctor inside a Kolkata hospital, but it is now faced with a peculiar situation that is delaying the process.
For no lawyer was initially ready to represent Sanjoy Ray, a 33-year-old civic volunteer who had easy access to the interiors of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the body of a trainee doctor was found on August 9, according to CBI sources. The crime has triggered massive country-wide protests and sparked a heated political debate.
A district court in Sealdah gave an initial permission for Ray’s polygraph test earlier this week, with the probe agency looking to verify his statements — a key component in its investigation that has caught national attention.
A polygraph test, also known as a lie detector test, is a scientific method used to measure a person’s physiological responses (heartbeat, changes in breathing, sweating, blood pressure) to the questions asked.
But the polygraph test had to be postponed on Tuesday in the absence of a lawyer. A legal aid counsel has now been assigned to brief Roy about the physical and psychological aspects of the test. CBI can go ahead with the test once Roy gives his consent.
The agency is also wary of the security situation with public anger sweeping the streets and showing no signs of abating, agency sources told News18. They added that they were looking at possible solutions. CBI is considering tight security measures for Roy when he is produced in court.
Every person is entitled to legal aid under the Constitution no matter the severity of the crime they are accused of. Legal aid counsels are appointed for the accused who cannot afford a lawyer or when circumstances are unusual.
The Kolkata case has shaken the country, brought the functioning of the hospital under scrutiny, led to the ouster of its principal, and triggered massive protests by the medical fraternity’s students and civil society. Faced with angry demonstrations, a section of leaders in the ruling Trinamool Congress are asking for updates of CBI, while stressing it was the state police that arrested Ray before the high court handed over the investigation to the central agency. The Supreme Court has asked for a status report from CBI on August 22.
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