Face Scan Done, Cops Now Zero In On Delhi Protesters With 'Criminal Records'

The Delhi Police have been going through hundreds of gigabytes of CCTV footage of the chaotic events that unfolded at Jantar Mantar last week, when protesters led by a satirical political group demanded the resignation of the Union education minister over exam paper leaks.

The protest site in the high-security central Delhi area erupted on July 20 and 22 when supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the police faced-off. At least 100 CCTV video clips showed the crowds breach security cordons, attack police personnel, throw stones and damage property.

Many faces with criminal history and files already existing in police records appeared on CCTV, sources said. So far, 2,873 people with criminal backgrounds have been identified using facial-recognition systems.

Of them, 989 have serious criminal records including murder, rape, kidnapping, robbery, and cases filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, among others, sources said.

Many of the names already existed in the records as habitual offenders, sources said, adding that a significant number have more than one criminal case filed against them.

In brief, the following are the number of individuals with criminal history, as per data shared by sources: 101 (murder), 62 (murder attempt), 284 (robbery), 61 (rape), 6 (under POCSO Act), 25 (sexual assault), 229 (under Arms Act) and 19 (kidnapping), among others.

Of the 101 accused in murder cases, 42 have two or more cases, and 12 have 10 or more cases against their names. Eight of the 61 rape accused have two or more cases against them.

CCTV installed at several locations captured the crowds attacking police and security personnel, breaching barricades, throwing stones, using pepper spray, vandalising vehicles, attacking policemen inside their vehicles, damaging public property and shops along the protest route and violating the ban on large gatherings.

Some of the footage include scenes of the mob breaking through barricades and advancing, along with instances of stone-throwing at multiple locations at Sansad Marg on July 20.

The same day, crowds threw stones at the police, vandalised vehicles and tried to overturn a police vehicle despite a policeman sitting inside, near Jantar Mantar. At Tolstoy Marg, CCTV captured a vehicle being set on fire and bus tyres being punctured.

Sources said many videos clearly showed direct attacks on police personnel. A woman police officer, who was injured, was seen being evacuated by her colleagues. At Sansad Marg, the crowds surrounded a policeman and thrashed him. There are many clips of injured police personnel, blood dripping on their uniforms. Some 200 of them were injured, according to the Delhi Police.

CCTV footage captured on July 22 showed the attacks on police officers Nandkishore and Vivek Bhagat.

Derogatory comments made by some protesters on camera have been saved and analysed for further action, sources said. These include derogatory and objectionable comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi made by a woman in Connaught Place, inflammatory comments about the parliament by a man at Sansad Marg, and a woman spewing expletives against the police.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) called off its protest on Saturday following the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Union Education Minister. His resignation was the CJP's core demand over the NEET paper leak.

Several first information reports (FIRs) have been filed against protesters across India after the July 20 'Chalo Sansad' march at Jantar Mantar. The CJP said the government agreed to withdraw the FIRs.