Delhi Police has issued body-worn cameras to frontline officers and personnel deployed across the New Delhi area, particularly those managing crowds and security near protest sites and roads leading to the Election Commission of India office, according to an official source. The move comes amid heightened security and allegations of misconduct during recent demonstrations.
A police source said the cameras would create a real-time video record of interactions between police personnel and protesters. The recordings are also expected to provide evidence when complaints are made against officers or when police allege misconduct by protesters.
“The bodycams are important, particularly when officers are dealing with large crowds, and there are allegations from either side. The recordings can help establish what happened during a protest,” the source said.
Security has been intensified across the New Delhi, Central Delhi and North Delhi districts following demonstrations against the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, exercise. Police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in large numbers, while multilayer barricades have been installed at several points to prevent protesters from entering restricted areas.
The deployment follows complaints made by three women journalists during a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar on October 2. The journalists alleged that police personnel had behaved inappropriately with them, and one complainant alleged that an officer had sexually assaulted her. The allegations have not been established.
The New Delhi district police received the complaints and transferred them to the Crime Branch for an inquiry, an officer said. Investigators are expected to record statements from the complainants and other people concerned. Police sources said no First Information Report had been registered in the matter at the time of the report.
The complaints have also prompted protests by independent journalists and others outside Parliament Street police station. Demonstrators have demanded registration of an FIR and examination of closed-circuit television footage linked to the alleged incidents.
The bodycams are intended to strengthen the record available during law-and-order deployments, where large groups of political workers, students, civil society members and journalists may interact with police personnel. Their recordings could provide investigators with an additional source of evidence while examining complaints against officers or allegations involving protesters.
Delhi Police has separately advised journalists covering protests to carry valid identity cards issued by their organisations or valid Press Information Bureau or Directorate of Information and Publicity accreditation cards. The advisory asks media personnel to keep the cards visibly displayed to facilitate identification by law-enforcement personnel at protest sites.
The police also asked journalists to ensure that their presence or activities do not obstruct police operations or the movement of law-enforcement personnel. The Crime Branch inquiry and the use of video evidence will determine the next official steps in the complaints arising from the Jantar Mantar protest.
