Officers of the Special Investigation Team have taken K T Naveen Kumar, arrested in connection with the murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh, to Ahmedabad's Forensic Science Laboratory for a brain-mapping test.
An SIT official said since Kumar is not cooperating with the investigation, the team has decided to take permission from the third Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court to subject him to polygraph and brain electrical oscillations signature profiling (BEOS) tests to know the motive behind the killing.
After obtaining Kumar's consent, the court had granted permission on March 12, following which the SIT had asked FSL Gandhinagar for dates and were told that the tests would take five days. The FSL has given time between April 16 and 30.
A team headed by a deputy superintendent of police had taken Kumar to Gujarat on Saturday. A comprehensive detail on the brain-mapping test would be placed before the court.
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) arrested Kumar on February 18 in Upparpet based on a tip-off that he was into arms dealing.
He came to meet one of his contacts near the Kempegowda bus station to hand over a few rounds of ammunition, the police said. The CCB seized 15 cartridges of 0.32-calibre ammo from him.
A resident of Birur in Chikkamagaluru district, Kumar has passed his SSLC. Interrogation so far has revealed that Kumar has close to 300 followers in Maddur in Mandya district. He also heads a fringe group 'Hindu Yuva Sena', which, according to the police, is into extortion and blackmailing.