Officials said police deliberately omitted name tags to prevent social media targeting.
The measure followed officers’ complaints of families being targeted after July protests.
Protesters questioned missing tags, while personnel offered differing explanations in circulated videos.
Police personnel deployed at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar during protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar were allowed to work without name tags to prevent their identification and targeting on social media, Hindustan Times reported citing officials aware of the matter.
The officials described it as a “deliberate measure” adopted after officers reported that they and their families had been targeted following the July 20 Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest.
The absence of name tags drew questions from demonstrators when protests against Kumar began on Friday over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Protesters filmed and photographed personnel, asking why their uniforms carried no identification.
Videos circulated online showed personnel offering different explanations. Some said their tags had fallen off during the commotion or that they had forgotten to attach them. Others said they had removed the tags to prevent them from falling off. Several declined to explain, Hindustan Times reported.
Officials said the decision followed reviews of police crowd management during the July demonstration. Officers involved in that deployment told their seniors that online identification had led to their families being targeted.
“Many officers said their families were called out by friends or in social circles. Some officers even reported that their families had been deliberately targeted by colleagues at work and through memes on social media,” an officer familiar with the review meetings said.
Personnel were subsequently assured that removing name tags would not attract action if they performed their duties within the law, the officer said.
“While most IPS [Indian Police Service] officers, who are easily identified by the public, chose to retain their tags at Jantar Mantar this time, many junior personnel were allowed to be on the ground without wearing their tags,” he said.
The July 20 march followed weeks of CJP protests and a hunger strike demanding then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over examination paper leaks. Thousands attempted to march towards Parliament and cross police barricades.
Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the gathering. Videos appeared to show protesters being beaten, while Delhi Police maintained that force was necessary after demonstrators became violent.
An officer also alleged that influencers posing as journalists were identifying personnel to target them online. A second officer said police were checking the credentials of people presenting themselves as reporters.
“Some are also interviewing police personnel on the ground to make memes. This is why the identity cards of people posing as reporters are being checked,” the second officer said as reported by Hindustan Times.
