2021 · GS Paper 4 · Q7 · 20 marks
Sunil is a young civil servant and has a reputation for his competence, integrity, dedication and relentless pursuit of difficult and onerous jobs. Considering his profile, he was picked up by his bosses to handle a very challenging and sensitive assignment. He was posted in a tribal dominated district notorious for illegal sand mining. Excavating sand from river belt and transporting through trucks and selling them in black market was rampant. This illegal sand mining mafia was operating with the support of local functionaries and tribal musclemen who in turn were bribing selected poor tribals and had kept the tribals under fear and intimidation. Sunil being a sharp and energetic officer immediately grasped the ground realities and the modus operandi followed by the mafia through their devious and dubious mechanism. On making inquiries, he gathered that some of their own office employees are in hand and glove with them and have developed close unholy nexus. Sunil initiated stringent action against them and started conducting raids on their illegal operations of movement of trucks filled with sand. The mafia got rattled as not many officers in the past had taken such strong steps against the mafia. Some of the office employees who were allegedly close to mafia informed them that the officer is determined to clean up the mafia's illegal sand mining operations in that district and may cause them irreparable damage. The mafia turned hostile and launched counter-offensive. The tribal musclemen and mafia started threatening him with dire consequences. His family (wife and old mother) were stalked and were under virtual surveillance and thus causing mental torture, agony and stress to all of them. The matter assumed serious proportions when a muscleman came to his office and threatened him to stop raids, etc., otherwise, his fate will not be different than some of his predecessors (ten years back one officer was killed by the mafia). (a) Identify the different options available to Sunil in attending to this situation. (b) Critically evaluate each of the options listed by you. (c) Which of the above, do you think, would be the most appropriate for Sunil to adopt and why?
In short
Sunil's best option is to continue the drive against illegal sand mining with institutional backing: reporting the threats, protecting his family, purging colluding staff and making enforcement systemic. The MoEFCC's 2020 sand-mining enforcement guidelines, with GPS-tracked trucks and drone surveys, keep the drive from depending on one officer.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 267 words
(i) CAPITULATE [Compromised-Hybrid]
Halting raids relieves the family but rewards intimidation, a Moral Myopia.
(ii) CONFRONT [Strict-Legal]
Escalating alone signals resolve but risks Premature Martyrdom.
(iii) EVADE [Procedural-Evasive]
A transfer ends his risk but is Moral Escapism that hands a bolder mafia to the next officer.
(iv) COMPROMISE [Empathetic-Humanitarian]
Welfare first builds trust, but the river's plunder continues.
(v) RECONCILE ✓ [Balanced]
Continue with institutional backing (recommended).
Secure the family
FIR on the threat, written report to seniors and protection, with witness protection for tribals per Mahender Chawla (2018) [case].
Systemic enforcement
Remove leaky staff and use the MoEFCC's 2020 sand-mining enforcement guidelines [committee/report] with GPS and drones.
Empower tribals
Prior gram sabha recommendation for minor-mineral leases under PESA, 1996, and sand cooperatives. Narendra Kumar's killing in 2012 [officer] shows why courage needs institutions.
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Police and Law Enforcement Dilemmas6 questions
Asked in 5 of 14 sittings since 2013
- 2026Ravi is a senior police officer with vast experience in riot control and cyber-policing. Since one year, he has been the Superintendent of Police (SP) of a district with a history of frequent rioting. Last year, Ravi had sought installation of an AI enabled software for predictive policing. This system has been operational for approximately six months. This new system employs advanced algorithms for capturing the biometric data of persons in a crowd and swiftly relating it to a data library. This has enabled the police to identify the persons involved in various crimes. The system has identified an immigrant and low-income neighbourhood as a centre for gang violence and drug trafficking. Aided by this AI analysis, the local police has focused its patrolling, preventive detentions and establishing checkpoints. Consequently, public order and law enforcement has visibly improved. Last week, some community leaders, civil rights lawyers and human rights activists visited Ravi's office. They submitted a memorandum that the new system is faulty as it is based on incorrect historical data caused by social biases and discriminatory policing. The memorandum also alleges that the increased surveillance has created a climate of tension amongst residents. This feeling is aggravated by the fact that the residents are not aware of the data noted against their names. (a) What are the ethical issues including biases involved in the use of AI in data-driven policing? (b) Place yourself in Ravi's role and discuss the alternatives available. Justify the action that optimises compliance with ethics.
- 2024Raman is a senior IPS officer and has recently been posted as D.G. of a state. Among the various issues and problems/challenges which needed his immediate attention, the issue relating to recruitment of unemployed youth by an unknown terrorist group, was a matter of grave concern. It was noted that unemployment was relatively high in the state. The problem of unemployment amongst graduates and those with higher education was much more grave. Thus they were vulnerable and soft targets. In the review meeting taken by him with senior officers of DIG Range and above, it came to light that a new terrorist group has emerged at the global level. It has launched a massive drive to recruit young unemployed people. Special focus was to pick young people from a particular community. The said organisation seemed to have the clear objective of utilising/using them for carrying out militant activities. It was also gathered that the said (new) group is desperately trying to spread its tentacles in his state. A definite/reliable intelligence tip was received by the State CID and Cyber Cell that a large number of such unemployed youth have already been contacted by the terrorist outfit/group through social media and local communal organisations and other contacts. The need of the hour was to act swiftly and to check these elements/designs before they assume serious proportions. Discrete inquiries made by the police, through the Cyber Cell, revealed that good numbers of unemployed youth are very active on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On an average, many of them were spending 6-8 hours each day, using electronic devices/internet, etc. It also came to light that such unemployed youth were showing sympathy and endorsing the messages received from certain persons, allegedly the contact persons of that global terrorist group. Their social media accounts revealed their strong affinity to such groups inasmuch as many of them started forwarding anti-national tweets on their WhatsApp and Facebook, etc. It seemed that they succumbed to their ploy and started propagating secessionist ideology. Their posts were hyper-critical of the government's initiatives, policies and subscribing to extreme beliefs and promoting extremism. (a) What are the options available to Raman to tackle the above situation? (b) What measures would you suggest for strengthening the existing set-up to ensure that such groups do not succeed in penetrating and vitiating the atmosphere in the state? (c) In the above scenario, what action plan would you advise for enhancing the intelligence gathering mechanism of the police force?
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2021 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.