New Delhi: Scrutiny of 2,873 people present at and around the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at the Jantar Mantar here has revealed that over 980 of them have previous criminal records, including cases of murder, attempt to murder, robbery, rape, kidnapping, crimes against women, illegal firearms and narcotics, according to official sources.
Police analysis showed that at least 101 people have been previously involved in murder cases, 62 in attempt-to-murder cases, 284 in robbery and dacoity cases, 229 under the Arms Act, 135 in snatching cases, 19 in kidnapping cases, and 67 in cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, a senior police official privy to the probe said.
They further said 61 of these individuals have been involved in rape cases, 25 in cases related to outraging modesty of women or molestation, while six have been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The verification exercise comes in the backdrop of clashes that broke out during the CJP’s ‘Chalo Sansad’ protest on July 20. According to police, more than 65 protesters were injured, while over 200 police personnel sustained injuries. Protestors alleged that security forces used pellet guns against peaceful demonstrators.
According to the source, the verification exercise was undertaken after large crowds gathered at and around the CJP protest venue and the subsequent violence during the July 20 agitation in New Delhi district.
They said the exercise was aimed at identifying people with previous criminal involvement and assessing the nature of individuals participating in or moving around the protest site. The findings form part of a larger scrutiny exercise carried out through police databases and dossier verification systems, the source said.
According to police, criminal antecedents of 2,873 individuals were examined. Of them, 989 were found to have previous involvement in serious criminal cases, indicating that more than one-third of those screened had police records.
Police maintained that the exercise relied on existing criminal databases and dossier records kept by different district police units and other law enforcement agencies.
“The analysis showed that among the 101 people linked to murder cases, 42 have been involved in two or more criminal cases, while 12 have criminal histories involving 10 or more cases, suggesting repeated involvement in serious offences,” the source said. Similarly, of the 62 people linked to attempt-to-murder cases, 25 have two or more criminal cases against them, they said.
