Former Banker And Alleged Key Conspirator In PNB Scam Case Refuses To Undergo Polygraph, Narco-Analysis Tests

A former banker and key conspirator in the multi-crore PNB scam case named Gokulnath Shetty has refused to give his consent to undergo polygraph and narco-analysis tests.

Former Punjab National Bank (PNB) deputy general manager Shetty, told a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court in Mumbai recently that he would not give his consent to undergo the tests.

Shetty, who is an accused in the multi-crore PNB scam in which fugitive diamond merchants Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi are prime accused, also rejected the charge of receiving pecuniary gains from the scam, adding that so called gains are mere “assumptions”.

His plea was submitted before the CBI special court after the CBI stated that it needs to know about “pecuniary benefits” received by the accused.

Earlier, the CBI had moved a plea before a special court in Mumbai, seeking it's permission to conduct polygraph and narco-analysis tests on Shetty, a former deputy manager at PNB's Brady House branch in Mumbai, where the alleged scam was perpetrated..

Allegedly, Shetty played a key role in the Rs 13,700-crore loan fraud while he was employed at the PNB's Brady House branch in South Mumbai.

Shetty, who was arrested in March 2018, after the mega scam came to light, also cited health grounds to object against the investigating agency's plea to conduct polygraph and narco tests on him.

In his application to the court, Shetty stated that he is in jail since 18 months during which, his physical and mental health has deteriorated. He also claimed that he has always co-operated with the probe and requested the court to reject the CBI's plea to subject him to polygraph and narco-analysis tests.