Raman 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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Q1.

Raman 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?20

Introduction

This case turns on cutting a terror recruitment pipeline without treating a community of jobless youth as suspects. The core dilemma is between National Security and Individual Liberty.

(a) Options Available to Raman

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(i) CONFRONT [Strict-Legal]

Mass arrests and platform blocking deter quickly but show Moral Myopia and bias against one community.

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(ii) CAPITULATE [Empathetic-Humanitarian]

Avoiding police action wins goodwill but is Bystander Apathy.

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(iii) EVADE [Procedural-Evasive]

Waiting for central agencies is Diffusion of Responsibility.

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(iv) COMPROMISE [Compromised-Hybrid]

Covert surveillance alone ignores root causes.

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(v) RECONCILE ✓ [Balanced]

Act on handlers, counsel the drawn youth and open livelihoods (recommended), since Shreya Singhal (2015) [case] separates criticism from incitement.

(b) Measures to Strengthen the Existing Set-up

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Targeted cyber enforcement

Block recruiting accounts under Section 69A of the IT Act, working with the I4C (2020) [scheme].

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Deradicalisation and jobs

Counsel drawn youth, as the Maharashtra ATS did, and link graduates to skilling, as Himayat [scheme] did in Jammu and Kashmir.

(c) Action Plan to Enhance Intelligence Gathering

National Security vs Individual Liberty. Venn diagram: National Security, Individual Liberty; overlap: Targeted, lawful, rehabilitative policing

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Social media lab and fusion

A lawful open-source cell, like Mumbai Police's 2013 lab, shares leads through the Multi Agency Centre.

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Trust and oversight

Community liaison and protected informants give early warning, with every interception tested against Puttaswamy (2017) [case].

Justification:

Kant's Categorical Imperative: each youth is a citizen to be won back, never merely a suspect.

Conclusion

Raman must defeat the recruiters, not the community: targeted law, a second chance and real work together close the door terror groups exploit.

This model answer is indicative and the model can make mistakes; please verify key facts independently.

Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2024 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.