UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — RAF diary entry shows Delhi Police authorised pellet gun use on July 20

Q1. In the organisational structure of the Rapid Action Force, the 'team' — its smallest functional unit — is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A unit headed by a Deputy Commandant, comprising riot control, tear smoke and fire elements
  • B. A unit headed by an Assistant Commandant, comprising riot control, water cannon and fire elements
  • C. A unit headed by an Inspector, comprising riot control, tear smoke and fire elements
  • D. A unit headed by a Company Commander, comprising riot control, tear smoke and medical elements

Q2. The Rapid Action Force at present comprises how many battalions?

  • A. Ten, the original raising strength, retained without any addition since inception
  • B. Twelve, after two battalions were added to the original raising strength
  • C. Fifteen, after five battalions were added to the original raising strength
  • D. Eighteen, after eight battalions were added to the original raising strength

Q3. Under the standard operating procedure adopted by law-enforcing agencies for dealing with an unlawful assembly, the foremost objective governing the application of force is stated to be which one of the following?

  • A. Immediate arrest and prosecution of the organisers of the unlawful assembly
  • B. Collection of photographic evidence for registration of cases against participants
  • C. Prevention of damage to public property through preventive detention of participants
  • D. Restoration of peace and dispersal of the violent unlawful assembly with minimum casualties

Q4. In the Indian crowd-control munitions inventory, a 'plastic pellet round' fired from an anti-riot gun is most accurately described as which one of the following?

  • A. A cartridge containing four metal pieces coated with plastic to reduce penetration
  • B. A cartridge containing four plastic pieces which, unlike metal pellets, do not pierce the body
  • C. A single plastic projectile designed to be skip-bounced off the ground towards the legs
  • D. A cartridge dispersing a plastic-encased chilli-derived irritant compound on impact

Q5. Consider the following statements regarding official measures on the use of pellet guns and less-lethal weapons for crowd control in India: 1. An Expert Committee to examine alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons was constituted on 26 July 2016. 2. Acting on that Committee's report, the Government imposed a complete and permanent ban on pellet guns in every crowd-control situation across the country. 3. A standard operating procedure adopted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and other law-enforcing agencies for dispersal of unlawful assembly provides, inter alia, for the use of rubber or plastic bullets as part of a graduated use-of-force policy. 4. A three-day special training in less-lethal weapons and ammunition, covering riot drill, equipment, law and order, and firing practice, is imparted to personnel. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. An Expert Committee to examine alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons was constituted on 26 July 2016.
  2. Acting on that Committee's report, the Government imposed a complete and permanent ban on pellet guns in every crowd-control situation across the country.
  3. A standard operating procedure adopted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and other law-enforcing agencies for dispersal of unlawful assembly provides, inter alia, for the use of rubber or plastic bullets as part of a graduated use-of-force policy.
  4. A three-day special training in less-lethal weapons and ammunition, covering riot drill, equipment, law and order, and firing practice, is imparted to personnel.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q6. The Union Government constituted the Expert Committee tasked with finding alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons in which one of the following?

  • A. July 2010, in the wake of the summer street unrest in the Kashmir Valley
  • B. July 2016, in the wake of the street unrest in the Kashmir Valley
  • C. December 2014, following the installation of a new government in Jammu and Kashmir
  • D. August 2019, following the constitutional changes relating to Jammu and Kashmir

Q7. Consider the following statements comparing the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 with the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 that it replaced: 1. Dispersal of an assembly by use of civil force is dealt with under Section 148 of the Sanhita, corresponding to Section 129 of the erstwhile Code. 2. The power of certain armed force officers to disperse an assembly, provided in the Sanhita, is exercisable in every case only after prior sanction of the State Government has been obtained. 3. The power to issue orders in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger, formerly Section 144 of the Code, now appears as Section 163 of the Sanhita. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Dispersal of an assembly by use of civil force is dealt with under Section 148 of the Sanhita, corresponding to Section 129 of the erstwhile Code.
  2. The power of certain armed force officers to disperse an assembly, provided in the Sanhita, is exercisable in every case only after prior sanction of the State Government has been obtained.
  3. The power to issue orders in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger, formerly Section 144 of the Code, now appears as Section 163 of the Sanhita.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q8. Which one of the following correctly describes the chain of command within which a Deputy Commissioner of Police in Delhi exercises powers?

  • A. Acts under the orders of the Commissioner of Police appointed under the Delhi Police Act, 1978, the force being administered by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs
  • B. Acts under the orders of the Commissioner of Police appointed under the Delhi Police Act, 1978, the force being administered by the Home Department of the Delhi Government
  • C. Acts under the orders of the Inspector-General of Police appointed under the Police Act, 1861, the force being administered by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs
  • D. Acts under the orders of the Lieutenant Governor directly under the Delhi Police Act, 1978, the force being administered by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice

Q9. Consider the following statements regarding the policing of the 'Sansad Chalo' march of July 2026 in Delhi: 1. The general diary entry recorded that the firing near Jantar Mantar was carried out on the directions of the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Zone 1. 2. The Ministry of Home Affairs ordered the deployment of 20 additional companies of the Central Reserve Police Force to Delhi, over and above about 30 companies of CRPF and RAF already made available to the Delhi Police. 3. These additional central forces were airlifted from Jammu and Kashmir, where they had been on internal security duty. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The general diary entry recorded that the firing near Jantar Mantar was carried out on the directions of the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Zone 1.
  2. The Ministry of Home Affairs ordered the deployment of 20 additional companies of the Central Reserve Police Force to Delhi, over and above about 30 companies of CRPF and RAF already made available to the Delhi Police.
  3. These additional central forces were airlifted from Jammu and Kashmir, where they had been on internal security duty.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q10. The freedom guaranteed by Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitution of India is most precisely described as which one of the following?

  • A. The right of all citizens to assemble peaceably and without arms, subject to reasonable restrictions in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India or public order
  • B. The right of all persons in India to assemble peaceably and without arms, an absolute right on which no statutory restriction whatsoever may be imposed
  • C. The right of all citizens to assemble, with or without arms, subject to reasonable restrictions in the interests of decency, morality or the security of the State
  • D. The right of all citizens to form associations or unions, subject to reasonable restrictions in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India or public order