Delhi’s first Narco test facility to begin operations from next week, check details

The need of the narco facility was not only sorely felt by the investigation agencies but different courts including a bench of the Delhi HC which in 2019 regretted the fact that there was no such facility available in the city. (Representative image)

Narco Analysis or narco test is a common word in the lingua franca of those who are fond of watching or reading crime dramas but only few are aware about how and where the test is conducted. Luckily for the residents of Delhi, the reality will be closer as the national capital’s first narco test facility is soon going to be operational. The facility which had been envisaged by the Delhi government’s Home department two years ago could not get operationalised due to the delay caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, the Indian Express reported. However, the facility which will operate from the city’s Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital is all set to begin its functioning from next week.

While the facility will be housed at the hospital, the narco analysis test facility will actually come under the jurisdiction of the Forensic Science Laboratory, Rohini. A close source at the hospital told the Indian Express on the condition of anonymity that the facility is expected to conduct a narco test next week. While a source at the FSL, Rohini confirmed to the Indian Express that the facility is going to be operational, the source refrained from talking about the scheduled narco tests at the facility.

A senior doctor at the hospital told the Indian Express that the narco test centre had been ready since last year and its operations were delayed only due to the successive ravaging Coronavirus waves in the city. The doctor also said that the hospital has agreed to the government’s request to facilitate the facility’s operations on every Monday and will consider expansion of the operations as per the needs of the government.

How is narco test conducted?
The central purpose of the narco test is to extract information or real facts about the case from an individual who is believed to be hiding the information from the investigating agencies. As part of the test, the subject is administered with an injection filled with sodium pentothal which takes the subject to a dizzy or sedated state. Also known as the “truth serum”, the drug disables the imagination faculty of the subject, thereby forcing her to only state the real facts about the case.

However as is the case with every other technology, the test is not considered cent percent foolproof and many experts have also said that involuntarily subjecting an individual to the narco test is a violation of her privacy.

Nevertheless, the need of the narco facility was not only sorely felt by the investigation agencies but different courts including a bench of the Delhi HC which in 2019 regretted the fact that there was no such facility available in the city.