Masood murder: CBI conducts lie-detection test on BJP MLA

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday conducted a lie-detection test on Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Legislative Assembly from Bhopal Dhruv Narayan Singh in connection with the murder of RTI activist Shehla Masood.

Singh underwent the test for several hours on Saturday at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Delhi as the previous attempt of the CBI to carry out a polygraph test on him remained inconclusive on March 19, sources in the probe agency said.

The agency asked him a series of questions related to his purported relationship with Masood and accused Zahida Parvez, and whether he knew about the murder plan allegedly hatched by the latter.

Unlike the last attempt when the physical parameters of Singh started to fluctuate, he remained calm and composed during the session, they said.

The CBI might call Singh again for the lie-detection test if the results do not prove satisfactory, they said.

CBI sources had said that the MLA is "not completely off-radar" in the case. However, the agency has not got any evidence which points to his role in the murder of the 38-year-old activist.

Singh had given his consent to undergo the lie-detection test before a special court in Indore.

During the probe, the CBI had found that accused Zahida Parvez had "very close relations" with the MLA, and resented his closeness with Masood. Parvez is currently in judicial custody.

While analysing call details of Parvez and her friend and another accused Saba Farooqui, sleuths came across some calls made purportedly to a close aide of Singh. The calls were made soon after Masood was murdered on August 16 last year outside her house in Koh-e-Fiza locality in Bhopal. Farooqui is also in judicial custody.