Yesterday, India’s Home Minister, Amit Shah, said during the investigation following the riots, the government had identified 1,100 rioters using facial recognition systems. [Read: After 8 months, Kashmir finally lifts social media ban — but only on 2G] More importantly, he noted cops used data from voter ID and driving license databases to identify insurgents:
अभी तक 1100 से ज्यादा लोग पहचाने जा चुके हैं। इसमें 300 से ज्यादा लोग उत्तर प्रदेश से दिल्ली में दंगा करने के लिए आये थे जिसकी पुष्टि उत्तर प्रदेश से प्राप्त डाटा से हुई है जो बताता है कि ये बहुत गहरी साजिश थी। pic.twitter.com/1lJB7oR73W — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) March 11, 2020 According to a report from The Hindu, a senior police officer said authorities also used India’s national vehicle database, e-Vahan, to catch perpetrators: However, Delhi police previously said they only matched faces with the criminal and missing persons databases. They also claimed not to be using the system to identify protestors. If the Indian government uses various non-criminal databases, there are concerns the system might be used to snoop on citizens and people showing dissent against authorities.
— Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) March 12, 2020 Last month, the Ken published a report stating that the government is planning to introduce a new bill, called the Identification of Prisoners and Arrested Persons Bill, which will allow cops to collect biometric data of people they call for interrogation. This is not possible with the current Identification of Prisoners Act.
