New Delhi: Two vans equipped with surveillance and monitoring tools outside Kerala Bhawan, drone operators positioned at the intersection of Tolstoy Lane and Sansad Marg, officers wearing body cameras and AjnaLens devices, and private photographers—the Delhi Police has deployed a range of surveillance measures to monitor protesters at the Jantar Mantar.
Parked outside Kerala Bhawan, the road that leads to the heart of the student protest at the Jantar Mantar, two surveillance vans have been stationed.
One of them is named “Ikshana”, a Sanskrit word for sight or seeing. At any given time, at least two or three officers monitor footage processed through AI-aided facial-recognition software, which places green boxes around faces as it attempts to match them against a police database of criminals.
In another van called “Mobile Command and Control Vehicle”, several Delhi Police officers examine live CCTV footage of people at the protest.
In a post on X, the Cockroach Janta Party raised questions about deploying facial recognition vans to live-scan peaceful protesters”, and said “mass-scanning citizens exercising their legal right to protest is unconstitutional”.
“Who stores these facial scans? How long will they be kept? Are secret registries being built to shadow-ban, intimidate, and target students for demanding accountability?” they said in a post on X.
🚨 JANTAR MANTAR IS A PROTEST SITE, NOT A DIGITAL OPEN-AIR PRISON! 🛑
Delhi Police has stationed Facial Recognition Vans to live-scan peaceful protesters. They are harvesting biometrics and extracting personal data on the spot—and we have three direct questions for the… pic.twitter.com/zCcLg3uxOE
— Cockroach is Back (@Cockroachisback) July 23, 2026
According to a senior Delhi Police officer the ‘Ikshana’ van is a “live CCTV surveillance vehicle” which was inducted ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi in 2023.
“The vehicle is equipped with eight fixed cameras for 360 degree view and is monitored by trained CCTV operators,” said the official. He further told ThePrint that the police were using facial recognition on protesters at the site to identify criminals who might be infiltrating the site.
“There are several anti-social elements who might try to infiltrate the students’ protest and incite violence, we have to constantly monitor,” said the officer.
A few metres away, towards the intersection of the Sansad Marg and the Tolstoy Marg, one drone operator always remains positioned all the time for the past few days.
As the sun sets and protesters gather in large numbers on the Sansad Marg, the operator begins to launch the drone. The drone monitors the area between the protesters and the police and the Rapid Action Force personnel standing towards the road that leads to the Parliament Street police station.
Meanwhile, several photographers in police Delhi Police fluorescent vests constantly film and take photographs of the protesters in and around the protest site.
“We have also deployed several officers with body cameras so that during any kind of escalation of law and order the officers can catch the footage of who turned violent and at which moment,” said another officer.
The Delhi Police has also deployed several officers wearing AjnaLens devices. These are AI-enabled smart spectacles equipped with an integrated facial recognition system and thermal imaging technology that was first deployed during the Republic Day parade in 2026.
“The smart spectacles are linked to the police database, allowing personnel on the ground to instantly access the information in real-time. The specs will be able to scan any individual and demarcate if they are suspects or not,” said the officer.
When scanning, the smart spectacles show people in either red or green boxes. “A person appearing in a green box means no criminal involvement, and a criminal record when in red,” he said.
The smart spectacles are equipped with thermal imaging technology as well, which helps officers detect individuals carrying metal objects or concealed weapons.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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