NEW DELHI: Delhi Police personnel deployed for crowd-control duties at Jantar Mantar during protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar did not wear visible name tags, with officials saying the measure was deliberately adopted to protect personnel from being identified and targeted on social media and to prevent their families from being dragged into controversies arising from protest-related action.Officials aware of the deployment said the decision followed instances in which individual police personnel were identified and targeted on social media after clashes during an earlier protest at Jantar Mantar.“Many personnel were targeted on social media after the July 20 incident. There are also concerns that once the identity of a junior officer is circulated online, his or her family members can get dragged into the matter,” an officer said.While senior IPS officers, who are generally easily identifiable, continued to wear their name tags, several junior personnel deployed on the ground were allowed to work without visible identification, the officer said.Police sources, however, said some personnel deployed during large protests belong to specialised detection or intelligence units and normally work in plain clothes because of the nature of their duties. Such personnel are also sometimes deployed for law-and-order duties during major demonstrations.The move, however, has triggered allegations from protesters and political leaders that the absence of name tags could undermine accountability during crowd-control operations.CPI Rajya Sabha MP P Sandosh Kumar, who was detained during Friday’s protest, wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah alleging police violence, arbitrary detentions and concealment of identification badges by some personnel.Kumar cited the Supreme Court’s directions in the D K Basu case and Delhi Police Standing Order No. 51, which provide for visible identification and name plates for police personnel. He sought an inquiry into the alleged use of force, detentions, deployment of plain-clothes personnel and the absence of visible identification badges.The issue of police personnel not wearing visible name tags had also surfaced after the July 20 protest, when videos of clashes between police and demonstrators circulated widely on social media. Delhi Police had maintained that force was used after protesters became violent and attempted to breach barricades.The latest protests have taken place amid heightened security around Jantar Mantar, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over allegations concerning the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the functioning of the Election Commission.On Sunday, around 110 people were detained and about 15 police personnel were injured during the protests, police sources said. Some women police personnel were also injured after allegedly being bitten during the confrontation.
