Delhi Police Hand Probe of 10 CJP Clashes FIRs to Crime Branch and Special Cell, Deploy AI Facial Recognition

The Delhi Police has formally handed over the investigation into 10 First Information Reports (FIRs) registered in connection with the July 20 clashes during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) Parliament march to its Crime Branch and specialized anti-terror unit, the Special Cell.

The structural shift in investigation comes alongside heightened high-tech surveillance at the main Jantar Mantar protest site, where police have deployed specialized monitoring vans equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) facial recognition software.

Investigation Transferred & Social Media Handles Blocked

According to senior police officials, transferring the probe into the 10 FIRs to specialized units is intended to ascertain whether outside miscreants or anti-social elements infiltrated the demonstrator ranks during Monday's march towards Parliament.

Key investigative measures and findings reported by law enforcement include:

• Special Cell & Crime Branch Probe: Multiple dedicated teams are conducting digital and forensic analysis of drone footage, CCTV recordings, police body-camera feeds, mobile location data, and digital dumps to map out individual roles in the clashes.
• Social Media Misinformation Probe: Police identified and blocked around 480 Pakistan-based social media accounts allegedly circulating fake news and misinformation targeting the ongoing NEET paper leak protests at Jantar Mantar.
• Property Damage Recovery: Joint inventories are being drawn up with government departments to calculate damage to police vehicles, public barricades, and infrastructure. Police plan to invoke statutory legal provisions to recover damages from identified offenders.
• Senior Leadership Visits: Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) Devesh Srivastava visited injured officers at RML Hospital, while Special Commissioner (Special Cell) Anil Shukla met senior officers at the Parliament Street police station to review investigative progress.

AI Facial Recognition and Mobile Surveillance at Jantar Mantar

Concurrently, Delhi Police has deployed specialized surveillance units outside Kerala House adjacent to the Jantar Mantar protest area:

• 'Ikshana' AI Surveillance Van: A specialized live CCTV surveillance vehicle equipped with eight 360-degree cameras feeds video into an AI-driven facial recognition system, matching faces against a police database of known criminals.
• Mobile Command & Control Vehicle: Operating alongside the Ikshana van, personnel monitor live multi-camera feeds from around the demonstration area.
• Student Privacy & Surveillance Concerns: Participating students expressed concern over potential profiling, reporting that continuous camera monitoring forced them to cover their faces while holding protest posters.
• Delhi High Court Challenge: Former JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court challenging the continuous, intrusive surveillance at Jantar Mantar. The Delhi Police, via Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, informed the court on July 20 that videography is conducted strictly for public safety and law enforcement, not for unauthorized snooping.

What We Can Verify

• Delhi Police transferred the investigation into 10 FIRs linked to the July 20 CJP Parliament march clashes to the Crime Branch and Special Cell. — The Indian Express
• Authorities blocked around 480 Pakistan-based social media handles accused of disseminating fake rumors about the NEET protests. — The Indian Express
• Delhi Police deployed the 'Ikshana' mobile surveillance van equipped with AI facial recognition software at Jantar Mantar to match faces against criminal databases. — The Indian Express

What Remains Unverified

• The exact monetary valuation of public property damage during the July 20 march remains [unverified] until official inventory assessments are published.