How ‘Divya Drishti’ is changing surveillance

Police officials had expected only 5-10% participation, but the response is said to have exceeded 25% in some zones

- Haidar Naqvi

Hoping to get freedom from raids and physical verification, as many as 546 history-sheeters across the Kanpur police commissionerate have voluntarily agreed to be tracked through their mobile GPS and Google location data.

The development has come within a month of the launch of Divya Drishti, a new Kanpur Police initiative promising remote, technology-driven monitoring. Under this new monitoring system, the police make video calls daily to confirm the location of the history-sheeter.

Take the case of Saeedul alias Hamza, who used to brace himself fora knock at his door every few weeks. The 30-year-old bus driver, who has eight cases on his record—including three robberies dating back to 2018 and 2019—had his history-sheet opened six years ago. Since then, routine police visits, surprise checks, and mandatory questioning after local crimes were an inescapable part of his life.

“It was tough,” he says quietly.

“Whenever there was a crime, I would be called in. Police would come to my house for verification. My daughter is small—I wanted her to grow up safe, without this fear.”

Last month, when Hamza heard about Divya Drishti, he saw a chance at normalcy. He went straight to Chakeri station house officer Santosh Shukla to sign the consent form.