13 hours ago
Kerala police plan brain mapping test on tribal woman
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Police are planning to conduct brain mapping test on a 31-year-old tribal woman to shed light on the disappearance of her three-year-old daughter in Nilambur last year.
Sources said the Pookkottumpadam police will soon move the Nilambur Judicial Magistrate Court seeking the nod to conduct brain mapping on the woman, who hails from Cholanaikkan tribe – deemed a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group – and is a person with intellectual disabilities.
They said the cops decided to seek the nod after they could not make any headway in the case as the woman did not reveal what happened to her child.
Brain mapping or brain fingerprinting is a technique in criminal investigation where the brain is prompted to 'talk'. A few electrodes are attached to the scalp after which cues connected to the incident under probe are given.
They act as stimuli prompting the brain to generate waves as responses which are examined using a software. The technique was used in high-profile cases such as the Aarushi Talwar case and Sr Abhaya case.
As per an SC ruling, the test cannot be conducted without the subject's informed consent. In the woman's case, the consent of her immediate relatives are required. If the police get the nod, it will be the first instance of a female member of one of India's most isolated and endangered tribal groups undergoing the test, said a source.
