Eye spy! Delhi Police sharpens surveillance in digital age

Time of India

18-06-2025

New Delhi: Delhi Police's counter-intelligence unit (CIU) is all set to run the next generation of Netra (Networking Traffic Analysis) surveillance platform and has begun upgrading its infrastructure and tech capabilities with new high-end servers and systems.
According to sources, next-gen Netra will enable cops to identify and pre-empt potential threats online.
Netra is a sophisticated network monitoring system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It is designed to intercept and analyse internet traffic, encompassing a wide range of online activities, such as emails, social media posts and VOIP calls.
"A technical evaluation meeting was held at the Delhi Police headquarters in Sept last year.
After a rigorous evaluation process, DCP Manishi Chandra approved a high-end server in Jan, paving the way for acquisition," said a police officer.
The estimated cost of one new server is about Rs 25 lakh. However, the procurement was done at a much lower cost, resulting in substantial savings for the department, an officer from the unit said.
Located in New Friends Colony, the CIU has the most advanced servers in the force, costing lakhs of rupees, and handles sensitive cases requiring secrecy.
"The high-end servers are required to run special software, including Netra, which can help cops sift through gigabytes and terabytes of data, besides analysing data from internet dongles and USBs," an officer said.
The state-of-the-art infrastructure enables cops to process internet protocol details records (IPDRs) data faster than their rival units, giving them an edge in key investigations, he added.
Netra, India's online monitoring system, serves as a critical pillar of the country's security infrastructure, enabling intelligence agencies to track and analyse suspicious online activity using predefined keyword filters.
"While there is a CMS (centralised telephone interception provisioning system) which intercepts phone communications, Netra helps monitor online activities, tracking text-based messages across various platforms, such as Facebook Direct messages, personal emails and online blogs. By utilising filters and keywords, it can identify specific words even within encrypted messages," said an officer.
Around a decade ago, security agencies in India sought to develop a real-time internet monitoring system to counter the growing threat of terrorism and crime facilitated by data communication.
The effort focused on major service providers like BlackBerry, Skype and Gmail.
"Two systems were designed: one by DRDO's Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), known as Netra, and the other by the National Technical Research Organisation," said a retired senior police officer.
Netra became the choice of tool for cops as it is an indigenous solution developed by govt scientists without external involvement.