HC upholds lower court order on tests on rape accused

Mumbai, Mar 17 (UNI) The Bombay High Court today upheld a lower court order allowing Mumbai police to subject the accused, Abhishek Kasliwal, scion of Shriram Mills, to conduct lie detector and brain mapping tests on him.

Earlier, a metropolitan court, while allowing the police to conduct the scientific tests on him, had remanded him to police custody till March 21 while rejecting his bail plea.

Accused of raping a 52-year-old women in his car in the Mills compound in the early hours on Sunday, Kasliwal is being taken to Bangalore for the scientific tests today.

Dismissing Kasliwal's plea against the tests, Justice R S Mohite agreed with the submission made by the prosecution's plea that the tests were necessary to find out the truth.

While rejecting the bail plea of the accused, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate P P Suroshe allowed the police to conduct polygraph and brain mapping tests on the accused, observing that the scientific tests were necessary for thorough investigation.

Defence opposed the police plea to conduct the tests, claiming it was a case of consensual sex and not rape. Pointing to certain references in the FIR, the defence further claimed it was a clear case of extortion as the victim had demanded money after she got down from Kasliwal's car.

The defence also qestioned the credentials of the victim, saying the FIR mentioned she was accustomed to loitering on the streets of Mumbai late in the night and was addicted to cigarettes and alcohol.

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