India, July 31 -- Maharashtra minister Chandrakant Patil has claimed that Delhi Police collected fingerprints from stones allegedly used during a protest in the national capital, and that these would be matched against Aadhaar numbers to identify those involved.

Patil, the Higher and Technical Education Minister, made the remarks at a press conference in Kolhapur on Thursday, July 30. His comments drew a sharp, mocking response from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, who said he would suggest Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recommend Patil's name for the Nobel Prize in scientific research.

The protest in question was led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which held a month-long agitation at Jantar Mantar in Delhi over examination pa...