In a first, suspect apprehended by using facial recognition technology: J&K Police
In a first, the J&K Police on Thursday (June 19, 2025) said the facial recognition system set up by the security forces in Anantnag's Langanbal checkpoint flagged a suspected over-ground worker (OGW), who was 'apprehended immediately for questioning'.
'The Anantnag Police, using the newly installed Facial Recognition System at Langanbal Naka, apprehended a suspected OGW flagged by the system. The individual is in custody. An investigation is under way,' a police spokesman said.
It's for the first time the J&K Police held a suspect by using the high-end technology of facial recognition. The suspect was held near Pahalgam, which is one of the main yatra routes. The Amarnath yatra will start from July 3 from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Sonamarg in Kashmir.
'Safety of the Amarnath Yatra remains our top priority,' the police said.
The latest move comes days after the Lieutenant Governor administration declared the twin routes as 'No Flying Zones' between July 1 and August 10 this year.
According to the order, any kind of aviation platforms and devices including UAVs, drones, balloons, etc., is prohibited on both the Pahalgam axis (in south Kashmir) and Baltal axis (in central Kashmir).
This year, the annual yatra comes in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 civilians dead on April 22. The Baisaran meadow where the attack took place is adjacent to the yatra route in Pahalgam. Additional companies of the central reserve force have been deployed for the yatra this year.
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The Wire
8 hours ago
- The Wire
J&K Police Confirms Use of Face Recognition Tech in Detention of Carpenter at Pahalgam
Authorities have detained a carpenter who is listed in police records as an overground worker of militants (OGW) after he was flagged by a facial recognition system near Pahalgam where 26 civilians, mostly tourists, were gunned down in a terror attack in April this year. This is the first time that J&K police have officially confirmed that it was using the controversial technology which was long rumoured to have helped the security agencies in profiling Kashmiri militants and their suspected sympathisers for counter-intelligence operations. A J&K police official said on Thursday (June 20) that the suspect who hails from Seer Hamdan village of south Kashmir's Anantnag district was apprehended after being flagged by the facial recognition system at the Langanbal security checkpoint near Nunwan base camp in Pahalgam ahead of the commencement of the pilgrimage to the cave shrine. Amarnath Yatra Nunwan base camp is one of the two starting points for the annual Hindu pilgrimage which will begin from July 3 under the shadow of the Pahalgam terrorist attack and culminate on August 9. 'The individual is in custody; investigation underway. Safety of #AmarnathYatra2025 remains our top priority,' the official said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Sources said that the system has been pre-fed with the database of all the suspected OGWs of Kashmir and it has been deployed near at least two checkpoints along the road to Pahalgam. A suspected OGW, who spoke with , said that he was recently asked to furnish his Aadhaar details at his concerned police station. It was not immediately clear whether the system works by recognising a suspect's facial features or their biometrics. A similar system is also being installed on the second and shortest route to the Himalayan cave shrine which commences from Baltal area of central Kashmir's Sonmarg health resort. The J&K Police have kept a database of hundreds of OGWs who have been named or formally charged in militancy-related First Information Reports (FIR) in Kashmir. These Kashmiri suspects are often summoned to police stations and detained on important national holidays such as Republic Day and Independence Day, or whenever the prime minister or union home minister are visiting the Valley. Although most of the suspects named in the FIRs have been granted bail by the courts, police has kept them on its watch list amid apprehensions of their continuing involvement in militancy. The controversial system would effectively make them criminals in the eyes of law and liable for detention or arrest without any sound legal backing. 'No one with an FIR or with an adverse police record can walk or travel on Khanabal-Pahalgam road particularly beyond Mattan (in Anantnag district) till the time the is over,' sources said. A controversial technology The use of facial recognition surveillance in law enforcement has been a source of raging debate across the world with human rights groups and legal experts seeking a complete ban on its use in public places over the fears of privacy violation and human rights concerns. According to a Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) analysis, India has about 170 facial recognition systems with a collective expenditure of around Rs 15.13 billion of which Rs 7.7 billion have been spent by the central government and Rs 7.43 billion by the state governments. However, only 20 of these systems are reportedly operational in Delhi, Maharashtra and Telangana, the IFF analysis states, adding that the police, army and other security agencies made more use of the technology than any other government departments. In 2018, police told the Delhi high court that the software used by the facial recognition system in the national capital was accurate only 2% of the time and 'not good'. The National Crime Records Bureau is developing the National Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS) to use facial recognition technology for assisting law enforcement agencies in crime investigations by identifying criminals from a bank of photographs and videos. The Supreme Court has ruled that any intrusion by the State into people's right to privacy, which is protected as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution, must conform to the thresholds of legality, necessity, proportionality and procedural safeguards. However, the IFF has said that the AFRS proposal fails to meet any of these thresholds, citing manifest arbitrariness and the absence of legality, accountability and other safeguards. Legal experts have also said that there was no law in place to keep track of how this technology was being used. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International among 180 global defenders of human rights have called on the governments across the world to stop using facial recognition surveillance technology in public spaces, terming it as a tool of 'mass surveillance' as concerns prevail over the use and storage of data gathered by the systems. 'The use of facial recognition by the police and security/intelligence agencies will not only lead to violation of the rights to privacy and freedom of speech and expression but also lead to human rights violations by helping to increase systemic bias against already marginalised communities,' Amnesty has said in a letter to the prime minister Narendra Modi.
Hindustan Times
16 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
OGW detected in face recognition system in Anantnag, nabbed
Ahead of the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra, the Facial Recognition System (FRS) deployed by Anantnag district police at Langanbal Naka detected an over ground worker (OGW) on Thursday. Police said that the individual, a resident of Seer Hamdan (police station Mattan jurisdiction) with a prior FIR registered in 2005, was working as a carpenter. He was subsequently handed over to the Pahalgam police station for further legal action, they added. 'This swift interception highlights the impact of technology-driven policing and is to send a clear deterrent message to miscreants as SANJY-2025 approaches,' Police spokesman said, adding that Anantnag district police has already enhanced electronic surveillance along all yatra corridors to ensure a safe and seamless pilgrimage experience. 'Anyone attempting to disrupt public order—or threaten pilgrims' safety—will be swiftly identified and dealt with under law.
Hindustan Times
20 hours ago
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Security bolstered at key Amarnath Yatra points
New Delhi Security forces, along with the Jammu and Kashmir police, have already sealed and secured the base camps, Yatri Niwas, and the starting points of the Amarnath Yatra, officials said, adding that due to the heightened alert following the Pahalgam attack, the locations were secured almost three weeks before the start of the Yatra, unlike previous years when the camps and locations were sealed only a week in advance. The Yatra from July 3 to August 9 is being held amid a high alert following Operation Sindoor and heightened security preparations in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack two months ago. The duration of the Yatra this year is shorter, 38 days in comparison to last year's 52. In a bid to bolster security, the Union home ministry has sanctioned an additional 581 companies of paramilitary forces for the pilgrimage, which is the highest to date. Last year, the number was around 510. The 581 companies include all the central armed police forces. 'On Wednesday, union home secretary Govind Mohan chaired a meeting with senior officers from all forces in Srinagar. All top officials of the army, paramilitary forces, J&K police, and administration were present in the meeting. It was decided that paramilitary forces and police will remain on guard even at night,' one official, who asked not to be named, said. During the weekend, CRPF's top officials, including DG GP Singh were in Jammu and Kashmir to review the arrangements. The CRPF is the nodal force for all paramilitary forces involved in the security arrangements. A CRPF statement said that a high-level meeting was held in Srinagar by the CRPF, after which its top officials visited the cave, base camp, and other strategic locations along the pilgrimage route. Additionally, forces have also stepped up surveillance and secured the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu from where the pilgrims will start their journey to Kashmir via the National Highway. Last week, top Jammu and Kashmir police officials, including police chief Nalin Prabhat also visited the base camp, from where the first batch of pilgrims will move towards Kashmir on July 2. The Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board on June 17 announced that vide a government order, all routes of the Shri Amarnathji Yatra—including both the Pahalgam and Baltal axes— have been declared as a 'No Flying Zone' from July 1 to August 10, 2025, and chopper services would not be available for pilgrims.
