Of these identified individuals, 25 were allegedly in jail according to police and court records at the time of the protest.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the facial recognition software used by the police during a youth protest at Jantar Mantar identified 2,873 individuals whose details matched with existing records available in official police databases. Among these individuals, 25 were allegedly in jail according to police and court records when they were spotted during the protest. The police submitted this data to the Supreme Court on August 17 during a hearing in a case alleging excessive force by the police against protesters during a march to Parliament on July 20. However, it is unclear if these identified individuals were accused, convicts, or named in criminal cases.
The Indian Express further reported that an investigation of the records showed that among the 25 persons, allegedly in jail but present at the protest site, 17 face charges of murder, four of rape and four more of attempt to murder. In its affidavit, the police had told the court that 'no actions are taken solely based upon the result of the facial recognition system'. After the face is recognised, field verification is done as the person’s details are already in police records, the police said.
In response to questions about the findings, the police said on Friday that further investigation was pending.
Source:
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