I-Day security: Police map 20,000 premises around Red Fort

Delhi Police has digitally mapped over 20,000 properties near the Red Fort for enhanced security ahead of Independence Day, using advanced tech for verification.

The Delhi Police has digitally mapped and verified more than 20,000 houses, offices, hotels and guest houses in and around the Red Fort ahead of Independence Day, in one of its most extensive occupant verification exercises in the area since last year’s deadly attack near the monument on November 10.

The eParikshan application has replaced the traditional paper-based verification process, police said (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

The exercise is aimed at creating a digital record of residents, tenants, domestic helpers and employees in the sensitive zone and forms part of the heightened security arrangements for August 15, falling nine months after the terror attack, in which at least 12 people were killed.

Police officers said this year’s Independence Day security drills have increasingly incorporated technology, including use of the eParikshan app, body-worn cameras and AI-enabled glasses, alongside physical verification, surveillance and checking of vulnerable locations.

The Central range of Delhi Police has undertaken the comprehensive household and occupant verification drive covering areas along and around the Red Fort. The objective is to create an accurate census of premises and occupants in the “sensitive event zone” and ensure that residents, tenants, domestic helpers and employees are properly documented and verified.

A senior police officer said, “The application uses GPS-based location tagging, real-time photographs and a unique identification number for each premises. It also maintains an edit history and audit trail and allows police officers to track approved, pending and declined premises. The system has separate access and workflows for administrators, beat officers and police station officers.”

During verification, police record details including the premises identification number, name, date of birth, father’s name, Aadhaar and mobile numbers, full address, premises and user type, employment details, photographs and remarks, he added.

Police said more than 20,000 tenant and domestic-helper verification records have been completed in north Delhi, while around 10,000 such records have been digitised in central Delhi.

The Red Fort and its surrounding areas have remained under heightened security following last year’s attack. Police have also scanned more than 1,000 CCTV cameras in the vicinity, checked the functioning of AI-enabled cameras and conducted security checks at parking lots around the monument.