CBI plea for polygraph test of 3 accused rejected

PRAYAGRAJ : The court of chief judicial magistrate (CJM) here on Monday rejected the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) application filed on October 12 seeking permission to conduct a polygraph (lie detector) test on Anand Giri, Aadhya Prasad Tiwari and his son Sandeep Tiwari—the three accused in the alleged suicide case of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) president Narendra Giri—as the accused did not give their consent for the test.

However, chief judicial magistrate, Prayagraj, Harendra Nath, on the request of the CBI, extended judicial custody of the three accused till October 30 which is the next date of hearing in the case.

On Monday, all the accused appeared before the court from jail through videoconferencing and refused to give their consent for the polygraph test alleging that the CBI had filed the application only to harass them.

The CBI, in its application, had requested the CJM court to pass an order for carrying out a polygraph test on Anand Giri, Aadhya Prasad Tiwari and his son Sandeep Tiwari, who are in jail for allegedly abetting the suicide of Mahant Narendra Giri.

Giri’s body was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his room in Baghambari Gaddi Math in Prayagraj on September 20.

A purported suicide by the chief priest of Bade Hanuman Temple named his disciple Anand Giri, Bade Hanuman

Temple priest Aadhya Prasad Tiwari and his son Sandeep of harassing him. All three were arrested in connection with the case.

Later, an FIR was lodged against Anand Giri and two others under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) with Georgetown police station here. The state government first set up a special investigative team to probe the case. On September 22, the government recommended a CBI probe into the case.