Trains at Howrah station in Kolkata seldom come to a complete stop, and the surveillance cameras keep running without pause. As one of the country's most active railway hubs, roughly a million passengers move through daily, creating such thick crowds that tracking any individual face becomes extremely difficult for human observers alone.

Yet positioned high over entry and exit points, platforms, dining areas and lounges, approximately 100 live facial recognition cameras operate quietly in the background.

The setup, put in place during the previous year, captures faces from the ongoing video stream and compares them to stored images of wanted criminals, suspects and missing individuals. When a match occurs, railway police receive notification of the precise location and receive authorization to make contact.

Certain passengers appear oblivious to this monitoring. Barnali Biswas, an office worker who travels through the station six days each week, expressed little concern during an interview, noting she believed the measures likely improved security. "Individuals uninvolved in any wrongdoing had no reason for concern," she remarked.

This style of camera, equipped with facial recognition capabilities, appears more frequently throughout India. In eastern regions, Spanish company Herta Security serves as one provider of the necessary software.

Local collaborators and internal records indicate Herta equips hundreds of railway stations in the area, Delhi's main prison facility, a religious site in Ayodhya, and municipal command centers in Ahmedabad.

Herta acknowledged its technology operates in India yet stated in writing that it would withhold details on specific clients. Its software could also appear at Howrah station, although regional railway staff declined to verify this upon inquiry.

A contact from one Indian partner estimated to Investigate Europe that over 4,000 cameras throughout the world's most populous democracy now rely on the Spanish company's tools.

Part of this expansion connects to the Nirbhaya Fund, established with public resources to address sexual violence following the notorious 2012 Delhi bus assault.

Women's advocacy organizations in India contend that substantial euros allocated from the fund support broad surveillance instead of direct assistance for victims.

Four prominent legal experts in EU artificial intelligence and biometrics regulations noted that two of these projects would violate rules if implemented within the European Union: the Eastern Railway network and the citywide monitoring effort in Ahmedabad.

Herta indicated it addresses such issues seriously and that its offerings follow European data protection standards irrespective of deployment location. Still, the firm noted it lacks authority over how authorities or integrators apply the systems in particular settings.

Italian socialist MEP Brando Benifei observed that these revelations prompt serious considerations for European policymakers. "The export and use of surveillance tools restricted in Europe to places like Indian railway stations highlights a concerning inconsistency."

Although the EU has imposed tight limits on comparable surveillance domestically, Investigate Europe discovered that European funding supported Herta in advancing its technology.

From 2020 onward, Herta obtained over 3.3 million euros in EU research grants for initiatives focused on crowd behavior analysis and facial recognition.

Surveillance technology originating from Spain

Herta Security began operations in Barcelona during 2009 under founder Javier Rodriguez Saeta, previously with Bosch and experienced in biometrics, which involves automated identification through physical traits or actions. Rodriguez later noted in a 2019 discussion that by 2005 he foresaw the future need to identify individuals unwilling to be identified.

The company's main offering, BioSurveillance NEXT, targets large-scale crowd applications according to its promotional materials. Rodriguez has described applications in demonstrations, athletic events, religious assemblies and airports. Product specifications highlight real-time matching against databases containing up to 100 million entries.

Graphics processing units form the foundation, the same processors driving contemporary artificial intelligence and enabling rapid facial recognition. In 2015, chip producer Nvidia named Herta among promising new firms in the field. By 2019, Herta reported over 200 clients spanning 50 nations.

The sector Herta serves has grown quickly. The technology now appears in American sports venues, British police operations and trials by various EU forces.

Nevertheless, Europe maintains strict controls. Since 2025 the EU AI Act has broadly forbidden real-time remote biometric identification, particularly facial recognition, in public areas for law enforcement. Lawmakers viewed this application as among the few unacceptable uses of AI.

Three limited exceptions exist: targeted searches for trafficking or kidnapping victims and missing persons; stopping imminent terrorist threats; and identifying suspects of specified serious offenses like terrorism or rape. Each instance still requires prior judicial approval and entry into an EU registry.

Herta maintains clients outside EU boundaries. A 2021 marketing document reviewed by Investigate Europe lists multiple projects including safe-city initiatives in Jamaica, Thailand and Mumbai. Additional uses involve police in Colombia and Indonesia, stadiums in Belarus and Russia, plus airports in Mexico, Nicaragua and Nigeria. Current status of these arrangements remains unclear.

Herta technology has seen European use as well, including trials by German Federal Police during 2017 and 2018 at a Berlin station.

In 2019 Rodriguez discussed potential misuse risks, stating Europe enjoyed strong legal safeguards defining appropriate applications. At that stage the EU-wide prohibition had not yet taken effect. He offered no comments on safeguards for citizens in markets like India lacking equivalent regulations.

Indian operations spanning railways, prisons and religious sites

Herta's growth in India developed across ten years. Around 2014 the firm provided four or five cameras for Mumbai's Safe City effort per a local partner.

A former senior Herta researcher, speaking anonymously, indicated early Indian projects supplied data that helped resolve algorithm challenges with non-white faces.

Herta informed Investigate Europe it does not routinely employ operational customer data for algorithm training. Any biometric data use for such purposes would need explicit legal justification.

The major advance occurred eight years later. In 2022 a Delhi firm secured an 11.5 million euro contract for video surveillance across hundreds of eastern Indian stations, with Herta software handling the facial recognition component.

Eastern Railway reported last year that 540 facial recognition units functioned at 143 stations. Plans encompass 392 stations including major regional hubs. Local partners indicated potential expansion to over 1,500 cameras.

Officials routinely match faces against watchlists of interest. Criteria for inclusion remain unspecified, though one partner estimated around one million entries on the list.

The system's scale exceeds anything feasible in Europe, the partner noted. At peak stations a single camera processes 10,000 individuals within five minutes. Matches trigger alerts to armed police authorized to intervene.

Delhi police stated in 2022 that matches at 80 percent similarity counted as identifications. With millions of travelers even minor error rates carry weight. Watchlist details stay non-public with no appeal process for incorrect matches.

Herta coverage extends beyond the Eastern Region. Through the Railway Land Development Authority program modernizing stations nationally, the software reaches Jaipur and Secunderabad terminals according to the local partner.

Software also operates across three Delhi prison sites: Tihar, Mandoli and Rohini, the partner stated. The contract reportedly totals 352 million rupees or 3.2 million euros.

Applications reach beyond government facilities. The system functions at Ram Mandir temple in Ayodhya where it notifies police of watchlist matches. Two additional temple installations are underway.

Herta participates in safe-city programs as well. Marketing materials reviewed by Investigate Europe claim 140 cameras deployed in Ahmedabad with further city installations listed.

Investigate Europe requested input from Eastern Railway, Safe City Ahmedabad implementers and Delhi prison authorities. No responses were received.

A sexual assault and resulting policy changes

Herta's Indian growth appears tied to policy responses following a high-profile assault. In December 2012 a young physiotherapy student boarded an off-duty private bus in Delhi with a male companion after attending a film. The driver and five others had stopped under false pretenses to pick them up.

Over the next hour the six men assaulted the companion, gang-raped the woman and ejected both injured passengers from the vehicle. She succumbed to injuries two weeks afterward. The incident sparked nationwide protests and prompted debate on gender-based violence and public protection failures.

In 2013 authorities created a new fund. Civil society participants had sought victim services, legal support and shelter options during discussions.

The initial 10 billion rupees or 92 million euros targeted empowerment, safety and security for women and girls. The fund acquired the unofficial name Nirbhaya, meaning fearless, from press coverage of the victim.

Additional allocations followed over time. By March 2025 roughly 58 billion rupees or 532 million euros had been distributed. Government figures from February 2024 showed about 50 percent directed to surveillance and policing while 31 percent supported victim services and helplines.