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.
A team of CBI officers examining the alleged rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, arrived at the Gandhinagar-based Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) with the four accused. A brain electrical oscillation signature profiling (BEOSP) test is scheduled and will be conducted on all four. They have already undergone medical tests to ensure they are fit for the BEOSP test. A team of forensic experts at the FSL and CBI team are to study the case and prepare “probes” short questions for the BEOSP test.
The BEOSP test is carried out via a process known as electroencephalogram, conducted to study the electrical behaviour of the human brain. 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 brain which then generate brainwaves. The test results are then studied to determine the participation of the accused in a crime. The tests are based upon knowledge and experience . A person’s brain might have knowledge of the crime committed and the alibi they have come up with. But it is the ‘experience’ of having participated in the crime that determines their guilt.
BEOSP Test is different from various other psychological tests like Lie Detector Test also known as Polygraph Test. A BEOSP Test does not involve a question-answer session, rather it is a neuro- psychological study of the accused person’s brain. During a Polygraph Test, psychological indications such as Blood pressure, increased heart beat, respiration and skin conductivity are sought to come to a conclusion, whereas, in a BEOSP test, neurological changes take place.
