The Delhi Police has denied allegations that it carried out mass surveillance of protesters using facial recognition technology during the recent student protests at Jantar Mantar.
In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court late Monday, the police said the facial recognition system was not used to create profiles of every person present at the protest. According to the police, the technology was used to check faces against existing records of people accused of serious crimes.
Only serious criminal records checked
The Delhi Police said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) will focus only on people with serious criminal cases against them. It said protesters without such criminal records would not be investigated.
The police referred to 2,873 people whose faces were matched with its records. These records relate to serious offences such as murder, attempted murder, robbery, dacoity, rape, kidnapping and crimes under the POCSO Act.
Other cases mentioned include crimes against women, snatching and offences under the Arms Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
2,873 people matched with police records
According to the affidavit, facial recognition teams deployed at Jantar Mantar identified 2,873 people who matched existing police records.
Of these, 2,402 matches came from the Crime Kundli database, while another 471 were found in police dossier records. The police said 92 of those identified had been named in more than 10 criminal cases. As many as 47 were classified as history-sheeters.
Physical verification before action
The police said the facial recognition system is only an initial screening tool. A computer-generated match alone does not lead to police action.
If the system identifies a possible match, officers are required to physically verify the person’s identity at the spot before taking further action, the affidavit said.
Police cite local crime figures
The Delhi Police also referred to crime reported around Jantar Mantar during the protest period.
Between July 20 and July 26, police stations in the area recorded seven cases of vehicle theft, 67 theft cases and 123 reports involving lost property.
The police cited these figures while arguing that checking for people with serious criminal backgrounds was necessary to maintain security during the gathering.
Police deny indiscriminate data collection
The police rejected claims that biometric information was collected from all protesters or that Aadhaar details were used to summon people. It also denied sharing protesters’ personal information with private companies.
The police described such allegations as misleading and said records of people with serious criminal histories are kept securely with authorised national crime databases as required by law.
Evidence collected from protest site
The affidavit also listed the material collected by the police during and after the protests.
This includes intelligence reports, deployment orders, wireless communication records, daily police logs, CCTV footage, body-camera recordings, official videos, medical reports and documents related to damage to property.
Police said footage showing alleged attacks on security personnel and damage to public property has been preserved and will be used as part of the investigation.