New Delhi, Aug. 14 -- The Delhi Police has digitally mapped and verified more than 20,000 houses, offices, hotels and guest houses in and around the Red Fort ahead of Independence Day, in one of its most extensive occupant verification exercises in the area since last year's deadly attack near the monument on November 10.

The exercise is aimed at creating a digital record of residents, tenants, domestic helpers and employees in the sensitive zone and forms part of the heightened security arrangements for August 15, falling nine months after the terror attack, in which at least 12 people were killed.

Police officers said this year's Independence Day security drills have increasingly incorporated technology, including use of the ePariksha...