Delhi Police Remove Name Tags at Protests to Shield Officers from Online Harassment

The Delhi Police force has implemented a new protocol requiring personnel deployed at protest venues to forgo their name tags, officials confirmed on Wednesday. The move is intended to protect officers from coordinated online harassment campaigns that have intensified following high-profile protest incidents in the national capital.

The measure was adopted after police personnel faced sustained social media attacks and identification-based targeting following violence that erupted during the Chakka Jam protest in July. Videos and photographs from the incident circulated widely online, enabling activists to identify and publicly target individual officers. The harassment extended beyond social media, with some personnel reporting threats to their personal safety and that of their families.

DelhiPolice officials stated that removing name tags at protest sites would reduce the risk of personnel being identified and subsequently harassed online. However, the decision has drawn criticism from civil liberties groups, who argue that anonymity can enable misconduct and obstruct accountability. They contend that officers should instead be held accountable through proper oversight mechanisms.

The move reflects broader tensions between law enforcement's operational concerns and transparency advocates' demands for accountability. Police leadership has indicated that the measure is temporary and will be reviewed based on ground-level feedback from deployed personnel.