NEET protest: At least 25 identified by Delhi Police CCTV at Jantar Mantar already in jail, says report | Today’s news
Earlier in August, the Delhi Police had told the Supreme Court that its facial recognition system had flagged 2,873 people with criminal records at the NEET protest. They assured that no action will be taken without verification. Verification by the Indian Express showed that at least 25 of the list, facing serious charges, were already in jail.
what’s going on
Police said that between July 20 and July 26, 2,873 people were identified through the system at the Jantar Mantar protest site.
According to the Bar and Bench, the Delhi Police said its use of facial recognition technology (FRS) during the recent Jantar Mantar protest was limited to those with an existing criminal record and did not result in indiscriminate surveillance of the crowd.
Police have made it clear that any action will be taken only after “verification in the field”, not just facial recognition.
The Supreme Court quashed all FIRs related to student protests against exam leakage, but allowed the government to take action against 2,873 people who the Delhi Police claimed had a criminal record and were identified by the Facial Recognition System (FRS) at Jantar Mantar between 20 and 26 July.
Data on these 2,873 people reportedly matched existing police records. This figure does not mean that 2,873 people committed offenses during the protest, Brut said.
At least 25 of those 2,873 people identified by the Delhi Police’s facial recognition system as having criminal antecedents at the Jantar Mantar student protests were already in jail when they were tagged, an investigation of police, prison and court records by The Indian Express found.
The finding raises questions about the reliability of facial recognition identification, although the Supreme Court has allowed the government to take action against those identified, subject to further verification.
“Investigations of those facing serious charges of murder, attempted murder and rape and child abuse show that at least 25 people on the list, identified by the Facial Recognition System (FRS) at Jantar Mantar, were in jail as per police, jail and court records,” the Indian Express report said.
Inside the investigation
Of the 2,873 people identified in the police statement, The Indian Express focused on those accused of murder, attempted murder and rape. This accounted for 205: 101 (murder), 61 (rape), six (Child Sexual Offenses Protection Act) and 37 of the 62 affidavits under attempted murder.
In that group of 205 people, up to 17 face murder charges; four rapes, including two in POCSO cases; and four more attempted murders were lodged in three Delhi jail complexes in Tihar, Mandoli and Rohini when the FRS tagged them at Jantar Mantar, records show.
The 25 individuals included three identified by FRS on July 24, July 21, July 25 and one on July 26, the last day of the protest at Jantar Mantar.
Delhi Police responded to a query by The Indian Express on Monday: “During the protests, 2,873 persons prima facie identified with criminal antecedents were spotted. However, further verification in this regard is pending.”
According to a police affidavit submitted on August 17, the FRS identified individuals with criminal records at the protest site whose “data matched existing records available in official police databases.”
It said 2,402 people were identified through Delhi Police’s Crime Kundli biometric database and 471 through criminal records.
