New Delhi: As many as 2,873 people with criminal antecedents were present at the students’ protest site at Jantar Mantar between July 20 and 25, according to a Delhi Police source on Monday.
The individuals were identified using the Facial Recognition System (FRS) and through technical means, a senior police official said.
Most of those identified were captured by FRS cameras in northeast Delhi areas, including Seelampur, Chand Bagh and Jafrabad, as well as in parts of southeast Delhi, including Jamia Nagar, Shaheen Bagh and Okhla, the official said.
Police are investigating whether any of these individuals were involved in the violence that broke out at Jantar Mantar and other parts of New Delhi on July 20, the official added.
According to the official, the individuals have been involved in serious offences, including sexual assault, murder, crimes against minors under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, kidnapping and robbery.
Some of the alleged criminals reportedly returned repeatedly to the Cockroach Janata Party's protest site, the official said, adding that serious criminal cases have been registered against them.
At least 989 of the 2,873 people with criminal antecedents identified at the protest site are suspected of involvement in heinous offences, the official said.
The Delhi Police's Facial Recognition System is a high-tech surveillance mechanism equipped with high-resolution cameras installed at entry and exit points of the Jantar Mantar protest site and at various locations across the city, including border entry points.
The cameras were installed to monitor and prevent anti-social elements from creating disturbances under the guise of participating in student protests, the official said.
Images captured by the FRS cameras are matched against the Delhi Police database, which contains records of criminals, absconders, history-sheeters and Bad Characters (BCs), based on information maintained by various police stations.
The presence of so many people with criminal antecedents has raised police suspicion that they may have been deliberately sent or called to the protest venue to disrupt law and order. Police are also examining whether some of them were being directed by forces operating Pakistan-based social media handles that have allegedly been spreading misinformation about security forces in the national capital, a source said.
With IANS inputs