The Delhi police’s Crime Branch has registered a fresh FIR to examine the alleged presence and role of 2,873 people with criminal records at the ‘Chalo Sansad’ march held on July 20 and find out whether the violence was premeditated, sources said.

The protest march was called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) seeking the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Union Education Minister over the alleged NEET-UG question paper leak. Mr. Pradhan resigned on July 25, and the month-long CJP protest was called off.

According to the Delhi police, more than 200 police personnel allegedly sustained injuries during the march while over 65 protesters were also injured. The police had also said more than 15 police vehicles were damaged during the clashes.

The police claimed that they had identified more than 2,800 people with criminal records who were allegedly involved in the violence and stone-pelting during the July 20 protest.

The Supreme Court on September 1 had ordered quashing of criminal cases against protesters involved in nationwide protests linked to the CJP. The court, however, allowed the police to file a “fresh and specific” FIR against 2,873 individuals with criminal antecedents, who were spotted by facial recognition technology at the Jantar Mantar protest site in central Delhi.

The police subsequently cancelled 17 FIRs.

Investigators will now verify whether those with criminal antecedents were among the protesters. Investigators will also reconstruct the events to establish whether the violence was planned or individuals with criminal intent joined the march and became involved in the clashes.

The probe will cover alleged attacks on police personnel, vandalism, and damage to government and public property, including police vehicles.

It will also examine whether those identified had links to student organisations and other groups involved in the agitation.

The Forum for Constitutional Democracy (FCD) on Monday condemned the Delhi Police for not registering an FIR against Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vivek Bhagat, who has been accused of molesting three women journalists.

In a statement, the FCD said the Delhi Police had received three complaints against the officer and referred them to the Crime Branch for inquiry. However, it alleged that no FIR had been registered so far despite the complaints. The organisation also pointed out that two of the complainants had previously lodged complaints against the same officer, but no action was allegedly taken.

The FCD also said the police could have registered an FIR first and subsequently transferred the case to the Crime Branch for investigation. Instead, it alleged that the authorities chose to conduct a preliminary inquiry, including examination of CCTV footage, before registering a case.

The forum demanded a prompt investigation into the complaints, immediate registration of an FIR against the ACP, and his suspension pending inquiry.

Expressing concern over the Delhi Police’s handling of the matter, the FCD described the response as alarming and called for accountability. The statement was issued by FCD convenor K. Ramachandra Murthy, and endorsed by former Supreme Court judge Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, academics G. Haragopal, Shantha Sinha, Rama Melkote, Telangana Press Academy Chairman K. Sreenivas Reddy, MLC M. Kodandaram, D. Narsimha Reddy, Gopal Reddy Gade and senior advocate G. Jyothy Kiran.