AI facial recognition vans at Jantar Mantar protest site spark privacy concerns

Delhi police’s deployment of four AI-powered facial recognition vans to “identify” protesters in real time at Jantar Mantar has ignited debate over the alleged invasion of privacy, prompting lawyers and civil rights groups to question whether the technology was being used to criminalise democratic dissent and stifle the right to peaceful assembly.

Two highly equipped surveillance and monitoring vans — Facial Recognition and Mobile Command and Control Vehicles — are parked on the road leading to the protest site, while the other two are deployed in and around Connaught Place to keep watch on people marching towards Jantar Mantar.