With the multi-pronged strategy of the Central and State Governments especially in the last few years, the naxalite problem has been resolved to a large extent in the affected states of the country. However, there are a few pockets in certain states where the naxalite problem still persists, mainly due to involvement of foreign countries. Rohit is posted as SP (Special Operations) for the last one year, in one of the districts which is still affected by the naxalite problem. The district administration has taken a lot of developmental works in the recent past in the naxalite affected areas to win the hearts and minds of the people. Over a period of time, Rohit has established an excellent intelligence network to get the real time information regarding the movement of naxalite cadres. To instil confidence in the public and have moral ascendancy over the naxalites, a number of cordons and search operations are being conducted by the police. Rohit, who himself was leading one of the contingents, got a message through his intelligence source that about ten hard core naxalites were hiding in a particular village with sophisticated weapons. Without wasting any time, Rohit reached the target village with his team and laid out a foolproof cordon and started carrying out a systematic search. During the search, his team managed to overpower all the naxalites along with their automatic weapons. However, in the meantime, more than five hundred tribal women surrounded the village and started marching towards the target house, as they are their protectors and saviours. The situation on the ground was becoming very critical as the tribal women were extremely agitated and aggressive. Rohit tried to contact his superior officer, IG (Special Operations) of the state on the radio set and on mobile phone, but failed to do so due to poor connectivity. Rohit was in great dilemma since out of the naxalites apprehended two were not only hard core top insurgents with prize money of ten lakhs on their heads, but were also involved in a recent ambush on the security forces. However, if he did not release the naxalites, the situation could get out of control since the tribal women were aggressively charging towards them. In that case, to control the situation Rohit might have to resort to firing which may lead to valuable loss of lives of civilians and would further complicate the situation.(a) What are the options available with Rohit to cope with the situation.(b) What are the ethical dilemmas being faced by Rohit?(c) Which of the options, do you think, would be more appropriate for Rohit to adopt and why?(d) In the present situation, what are the extra precautionary measures to be taken by the police in dealing with women protesters?
What the examiner wants
Rohit has captured naxalites, two of them top insurgents, but 500 agitated tribal women are marching to free them. List options, dilemmas, the best choice, and precautions with women protesters.
Demand-wise check
- 1(a) Options: release the naxalites; use force; hold and negotiate; withdraw with the top two and release others; buy time with women police and local leaders≈50 words
- 2(b) Dilemmas: duty to apprehend vs civilian lives; rule of law vs peace; force on women; chain of command broken≈50 words
- 3(c) Best: avoid firing; use negotiation through local leaders, keep the top insurgents, move them out by a safe route, release lower-level cadres only if lives are at stake and record reasons≈50 words
- 4(d) Precautions: women police, no force except as per law, video recording, medical help, dialogue≈50 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
Where marks usually go
- Choosing to fire on civilians
- Missing sub-part (d)
Draw this
- Option table: option | lives at risk | rule of law | verdict
Value addition
- LawBNSS Section 43(5) (earlier Section 46(4) CrPC) bars arresting a woman after sunset and before sunrise except in exceptional cases, with a woman officer.Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
- PrincipleUN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (1990): force only when strictly necessary and proportionate.United Nations
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Monika Srivastava · Page 51 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 31 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aakash Garg · AIR 5 · Page 31 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 35 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 14 minutes, then get it checked.