At least 25 murder, rape accused whom Delhi Police software caught at Jantar Mantar were in jail, records show

At least 25 murder, rape accused whom Delhi Police software caught at Jantar Mantar were in jail, records show Delhi Police informed the Supreme Court its facial recognition system flagged 2, 873 residents with criminal records at protest, assured no action without verification.

Key points

• Ankit alias Mogli (34), identified around 3.28 pm, July 25: Arrested in 2022 from West Delhi's Tilak Nagar area.
• Other districts and units listed included Railways, Shahdara, Central, South-East, West, Dwarka, South, Rohini, New Delhi, Crime Branch, IGI Airport, Metro and Special Cell.
• Annu Gilodia alias Pahalwal (27), identified around 3.13 pm, July 25: Arrested from South-West Delhi's Kishan Garh.
• Pratap Singh Sisodia (31), identified around 3.35 pm, July 25: Arrested along with an associate from East Delhi's Gandhi Nagar area.
• Sonu Kumar (34), identified around 8.39 pm, July 25: Arrested from South-East Delhi's Okhla Industrial area.

15 min read New Delhi Updated: Sep 4, 2026 05: 29 AM IST.

Protesters at Jantar Mantar. This person had gathered to seek the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, at New Delhi on Monday, July 20, 2026. (Express file photo by Abhinav Saha).

When the Supreme Court quashed all FIRs related to the exam leak protests by students, it let the Administration proceed against the 2, 873 residents who the Delhi Police asserted had criminal records and were identified by its facial recognition software at the main protest site in Jantar Mantar between July 20 and 26, on Tuesday. For their part, the police have created it clear that any action will be taken only after "field verification", not merely on facial recognition. Their task is cut out.

Notably, an investigation of those with serious charges, murder, attempted murder and rape, and child abuse, demonstrates that at least 25 residents on the list, identified by the Facial Recognition System (FRS) at Jantar Mantar, were in jail as per police, jail and court records. Why facial recognition is a hit — and miss.

In this group of 205, 17 facing charges of murder; four of rape, including two in POCSO cases; and four more of attempt to murder were lodged in Delhi's three prison complexes at Tihar, Mandoli and Rohini when the FRS flagged them at Jantar Mantar, records show.

These 25 individuals included three identified by the FRS on July 24, 21 on July 25, and one on July 26, the last day of the protest at Jantar Mantar.

Facial Recognition System (FRS) in a Delhi Police van parked near the Jantar Mantar protest site in July-end. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha) Responding on Monday to a questionnaire from The Indian Express, the Delhi Police remarked: "During the protests, 2873 individuals identified as prima facie having criminal antecedents were spotted. Nevertheless, further verification in this regard is pending."

According to the police affidavit submitted on August 17, its FRS identified individuals with criminal records at the protest site whose "particulars matched with existing records available in official police databases". It remarked that 2, 402 residents were identified by the Delhi Police's biometric database, Crime Kundli, and 471 through criminal records.

Of the 205 verified by The Indian Express, the 17 shown in jail on charges of murder during the protest are.

Kishan (26), identified by FRS around 6.36 pm, July 24: Arrested from North-East Delhi's Karawal Nagar, additionally faces cases of armed robbery. He was first sent to jail on July 9, 2022, and jailed again on October 17, 2023.

Mustaq (29), identified around 6.31 pm, July 24: Arrested from North-East Delhi's Gokul Puri, additionally faces cases of snatching and attempt to murder. First jailed on January 1, 2024; again on June 23, 2026.

Ankit Kumar (22), identified around 5.58 pm, July 24: Arrested from North Delhi's Wazirabad. First jailed on November 11, 2022; again on June 24 this year.

Yogesh (27), identified around 4.24 pm, July 25: Arrested from South Delhi. First jailed on November 17, 2024; again on November 29, 2024.

Pratap Singh Sisodia (31), identified around 3.35 pm, July 25: Arrested along with an associate from East Delhi's Gandhi Nagar area. First jailed on November 28, 2014; jailed multiple times afterwards, shifted from Mandoli to Tihar on August 5, 2026.

Arjun (28), identified around 1.48 pm, July 25: Arrested from West Delhi's Punjabi Bagh area. First jailed on March 10, 2021; again on March 9, 2023.

Sonu Kumar (34), identified around 8.39 pm, July 25: Arrested from South-East Delhi's Okhla Industrial area. First jailed on January 30, 2020; again on October 27, 2025.

Vijay (26), identified around 11.40 pm, July 25: Arrested from North-West Delhi's Shalimar Bagh area. First jailed on August 29, 2024; again on January 19, 2026.

Rakesh (42), identified around 1.30 pm, July 25: Arrested from North-West Delhi, additionally faces cases of robbery, snatching, theft and offences under the Excise Act. First jailed on December 7, 2008; again on February 18, 2024.

Bhola alias Shyam Kumar (32), identified around 4.58 pm, July 25: Arrested from North-West Delhi, additionally faces cases of snatching and burglary. First jailed on April 26, 2015; again on March 29, 2025.

Raja (27), identified around 2.22 pm, July 25: Arrested from North Delhi's Sabzi Mandi. First jailed on September 1, 2020; again on July 1, 2024.

Vicky alias Manoj Thakur (34), identified around 11.12 pm, July 25: Arrested from North Delhi's Kotwali area. First jailed on January 2, 2015; again on May 7, 2016.

Mohd Faraz (23), identified around 2.59 pm, July 25: Arrested from North Delhi's Wazirabad, faces a separate robbery case. First jailed on January 20, 2022; again on October 9, 2024.

Manish (28), identified around 4.25 pm, July 25: Arrested from Central Delhi's Ranjit Nagar area. First jailed on April 24, 2023; again on October 23, 2024.

Dharmender Yadav (37), identified around 1.20 pm, July 25: Arrested in a murder case from Delhi's Dwarka area, additionally faces cases of theft and attempt to murder. First jailed on July 22, 2016; again on May 14, 2026.

Sonu (29), identified around 3.44 pm, July 25: Arrested from G T B Enclave in Shahdara district, additionally faces cases of robbery. First jailed on February 11, 2018; again on April 26, 2022.

Royal Massy (25), identified around 5.45 pm, July 26: Arrested from South Delhi's Tigri area. First jailed on August 20, 2021; again on April 4, 2023. The four rape accused, including three held under POCSO Act, are.

Ankit alias Mogli (34), identified around 3.28 pm, July 25: Arrested in 2022 from West Delhi's Tilak Nagar area. First jailed on February 15, 2022; again in Tihar on July 16, 2024.

Sunil Kumar (26), identified around 4.04 pm, July 25: Arrested from South Delhi under POCSO Act. First jailed on October 15, 2021; again on August 30, 2025.

Heera Singh, identified around 3.31 pm, July 25: Arrested from North-East Delhi under POCSO Act. He has been in jail since July 11, 2023.

Kundan, identified around 11.48 pm, July 25: Arrested from North-East Delhi under POCSO Act. First jailed on March 30, 2024; again on May 29, 2024. The four linked to attempt to murder cases are.

Mahesh (33), identified around 3.34 pm, July 25: Arrested from North Delhi's Kotwali. First jailed on May 23, 2022; again on April 29, 2024.

Bobby (24), identified around 4.23 pm, July 25: Arrested from South Delhi's Sangam Vihar area, additionally faces case of robbery. First jailed on May 3, 2021; again on February 21, 2024.

Jishan Ahmad Idrishi (25), identified around 4.55 pm, July 25: Arrested from South-West Delhi's Sagarpur area, additionally faces case of snatching. First jailed on February 17, 2020; again on March 19, 2026.

Annu Gilodia alias Pahalwal (27), identified around 3.13 pm, July 25: Arrested from South-West Delhi's Kishan Garh. First jailed on October 23, 2021; again on March 25, 2022. AI generated 'No action solely on FRS'.

Notably, the Delhi Police's facial recognition software places boxes around detected faces and compares them with images in police databases. In response to a Right to Information (RTI) request in 2022, the police had made public that it considered a match to be "positive" if its system demonstrated an accuracy rate of 80 per cent. The result is not, by itself, proof of identity. Performance varies with the algorithm, camera angle, lighting, image quality, masks, and the database being searched.

In practice, the Delhi Police's affidavit in the Supreme Court was in response to petitions being heard alleging excessive force and employ of surveillance at the students' protest in Jantar Mantar.

District-wise, the data demonstrates that Delhi's North recorded the highest number of identified persons at 285, followed by Outer (257), North West (256), North East (174), East (173), and South West (166). Other districts and units listed included Railways, Shahdara, Central, South-East, West, Dwarka, South, Rohini, New Delhi, Crime Branch, IGI Airport, Metro and Special Cell.

Nevertheless, the affidavit does not specify whether those identified were accused, convicts, or merely named in criminal cases.

According to the affidavit, "the face and other material of only those accused would be available in the police record who are facing serious offences and not petty offences like traffic challans/ violations offences, etc".

For now, at least 25 murder, rape accused whom Delhi Police software caught at remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.