What is ‘brain fingerprinting’, the neuropsychological interrogation that Hathras rape accused will undergo?

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras of Uttar Pradesh, has brought all the four accused in the case from Aligarh jail to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) lab in Gandhinagar for brain mapping and polygraph tests.

A brain electrical oscillation signature profiling (BEOSP) test will be conducted on all four. Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature Profiling (BEOSP) also known as brain fingerprinting is a neuro psychological method of interrogation in which the accused’s participation in the crime is investigated by studying their brain’s response.

The BEOSP test is carried out via a process known as electroencephalogram, conducted to study the electrical behaviour of the human brain. The methodology was developed by CR Mukundan, a neuroscientist at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences at Bangalore.

According to Indian Express, Under this test, the consent of the accused is first taken and they are then made to wear caps with dozens of electrodes attached to them. The accused are then shown visuals or played audio clips related to the crime to check if there is any triggering of neurons in their brains which then generate brainwaves. The test results are then studied to determine the participation of the accused in a crime.