Bengaluru: City police, probing the alleged murder of six-year-old P Vennela, are contemplating a polygraph test on the accused persons to address contradictions in reconstructing the sequence of events.
The second daughter of the now-separated Praveen and Priyanka couple was shifted to a private hospital in Whitefield by her mother and her male friend, Mohan MG, in a motionless state on the morning of March 24. There, the doctors declared Vennela brought dead. Priyanka claimed that Vennela slept inside their car with the windows closed, and she died of suffocation.
However, her father, Praveen, an educationist from Davanagere, shared the autopsy report with his England-based sister who is a child specialist. She shared the same with a senior IPS officer with Lokayukta, who strongly opined that it was a case of murder. Then, Praveen, on June 4, filed a murder case against Priyanka and Mohan.
A polygraph test, commonly known as a lie detector test, is an investigative procedure that measures and records physiological responses — such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration and skin conductivity — while a person answers a structured series of questions. Meanwhile, a local court extended the police custody of Priyanka and Mohan for a few more days.
“As of now, Mohan has confessed to having elbowed Vennela on the stomach for spilling ice cream. When she cried, he tightly closed her mouth. This perhaps caused the death. But why did Priyanka, the mother, not notice Vennela was motionless?” said an investigating officer.
“We will question the two repeatedly on different aspects. If we feel that they are dodging us or intentionally hiding the truth, then we will think of a polygraph test,” a senior police officer said.
