MOHALI, Apr 19 — A local court has approved polygraph tests for six Mohali police personnel as part of the ongoing investigation into the unauthorized interviews of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, recorded from jail in September 2022.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMIC) Manpreet Kaur granted the application on April 16, with the order being made public on Friday. The request for the lie detector test was filed by the public prosecutor and ADGP Neelabh Kishore of the Mohali Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), who were present in court alongside the six officers.
The personnel — ASI Mukhtiar Singh and constables Simranjit Singh, Harpreet Singh, Balwinder Singh, Satnam Singh and Amritpal Singh — were all attached to the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) unit in Mohali when the first of the controversial interviews took place.
All six officers have given their written consent for the test, a requirement under Supreme Court guidelines to ensure voluntariness in scientific procedures. “In compliance with the guidelines issued by the apex court, consent is necessary to ensure voluntariness for undergoing scientific tests,” the court order read. It further noted that the officials’ statements had already been recorded as part of the investigation.
The polygraph test was allowed during proceedings in the case titled State vs Lawrence Bishnoi, which includes charges under Sections 384, 201, 202, 506, 116, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, as well as Section 52-A(1) of the Prisons (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2011. The FIR was registered at Phase 4 Police Station, Mohali.
A special investigation team (SIT) headed by the Punjab Police’s special director general (human rights) earlier revealed that one of the interviews was conducted at a CIA facility in Kharar between September 3 and 4, 2022. A second interview, the SIT stated, took place in Rajasthan. That portion of the probe has since been transferred to Rajasthan authorities.
The case came to light in March 2023 when a private news channel aired two interviews of Bishnoi, prompting questions about security lapses and alleged collusion within enforcement agencies.
Investigators are using the polygraph test to determine whether the CIA personnel were involved in facilitating media access to Bishnoi. The identities of other possible suspects have not yet been disclosed.
