Maharashtra PSI (MPSC Group B) Interview

What changed from IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, and what did not: cognizable versus non-cognizable, bailable versus non-bailable · FIR in practice: zero FIR, e-FIR, refusal to register and the complainant's remedies, the Lalita Kumari principle of mandatory registration for cognizable offences, preliminary enquiry windows · Arrest and custody: when arrest is necessary, the arrest memo and the Arnesh Kumar guidelines for offences under seven years, 24-hour production before a magistrate, D.K. Basu safeguards, police versus judicial custody and the 15-day limit · Investigation steps a sub-inspector actually performs: spot panchnama, seizure, statements under section 180 BNSS, search without warrant, forensic team call-out and videography of search and seizure that the new codes make mandatory · Chargesheet, timelines and the court: 60 and 90 day limits and default bail, section 173 final report, witness protection, how a weak chargesheet collapses in trial · Everyday offences and their ingredients: theft versus extortion versus robbery, hurt and grievous hurt, cheating, criminal intimidation, culpable homicide versus murder, the new organised-crime and mob-lynching sections · Rights of the accused and the complainant: free legal aid, medical examination, the right to know grounds of arrest, informing a relative, protections for women and juveniles at the police station · Evidence a SI must preserve: chain of custody, electronic records and section 63 BSA, CCTV and CDR requisition, confession to police being inadmissible, dying declaration

14+ seeded questions

The state police hierarchy from the DGP to the beat constable, the role of the SP, SDPO or DySP, SHO and the sub-inspector as investigating officer, and the commissionerate system in big cities · Beat policing and the thana day: general diary, beat book, patrolling, passport and tenant verification, how a beat officer builds informants and community trust in a mohalla or village · State-specific flagship policing initiatives the board asks about: women's help desks, Nirbhaya squads or Shakti teams, Dial 112 or ERSS response times, e-challan, citizen portals and crime mapping in the candidate's own state · The candidate's home district: crime pattern, border or coastal issues, highways and accident black spots, migration, illicit liquor or sand mining, and what the district police are known for · Police reforms and accountability: Prakash Singh directions, state police complaints authorities, body cameras and CCTV in thanas, custodial death reporting, and why reforms stall · Working with others: the SDM and executive magistrate, panchayat and municipal bodies, the public prosecutor, forensic lab, hospital and the district collector in an emergency · Traffic and road safety as policing: the Motor Vehicles Amendment, drunk driving checks, hit-and-run under the new code, and managing festival traffic in a crowded town · Image and conduct: the Police Act and conduct rules, social media use by officers, handling media and RTI, and courtesy at the thana as the first test of policing

14+ seeded questions

Common cyber frauds a thana sees weekly: UPI and OTP frauds, digital arrest scams, sextortion, loan-app harassment, fake job and investment scams, SIM swap, and how each works step by step · First response to a cyber complaint: the 1930 helpline and the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, the golden hour to freeze money through banks and the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting system, preserving screenshots and device evidence · The legal toolkit: Information Technology Act sections 66 to 67, BNS cheating and impersonation provisions, the intermediary rules, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, and when to seek data from a platform or bank · Investigating with data: CDR, IPDR and IMEI tracing, bank nodal officers, mule accounts, cryptocurrency trails, geo-tagging, and the limits of what a SI can request without a magistrate · Economic offences: chit fund and Ponzi schemes under the BUDS Act, cheque bounce versus cheating, GST and fake-invoice rackets, hawala, the role of the EOW and when a case moves to the ED or SFIO · Digital evidence that stands in court: section 63 BSA certificate, hash values, imaging a phone, chain of custody for a seized laptop, the forensic lab process · Prevention and awareness: cyber safety campaigns in schools and villages, senior citizens as targets, cooperation with banks and telecom circles, and the gaps in state cyber police stations · Emerging threats: deepfakes, AI voice cloning, ransomware against municipal and hospital systems, dark web drug markets, and how a small cyber cell prioritises them

14+ seeded questions

The internal security map of India today: left-wing extremism and its shrinking footprint, Jammu and Kashmir after reorganisation, the North East and peace accords, Punjab and the gangster-terror nexus, coastal security after Mumbai 2008 · The architecture: Intelligence Bureau, state intelligence units, NIA, Multi-Agency Centre, NATGRID, NSG and the role of the beat constable as the first intelligence collector · How intelligence is actually gathered: human sources, open-source monitoring, technical intelligence, source handling ethics, grading of information, the difference between information and intelligence · Terror financing and radicalisation: hawala, fake currency, crypto, online radicalisation, counter-radicalisation programmes and the role of community policing · Laws and their limits: UAPA, NSA, the Arms Act, state public safety acts, the balance between security and civil liberties, and the misuse debate · Border and frontier issues: infiltration routes, drugs and arms through drones in Punjab, the Myanmar border and refugees, Bangladesh border fencing, and coordination with BSF, SSB and ITBP · Communal and caste flashpoints as intelligence problems: early warning signs, rumour tracking on social media, festival calendars, the peace committee and the role of district intelligence · Strategic awareness a board expects: India's neighbourhood, Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean, cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, and espionage cases involving honey traps and defence personnel

13+ seeded questions

Unlawful assembly, rioting and the legal ladder of force: sections on dispersal of assemblies in the BNSS, the role of the executive magistrate, warnings, lathi charge, tear gas and the last resort of firing, and who records what · Crowd science for Indian events: stampede risk at temples, railway stations and political rallies, barricading, one-way flow, crowd density counting, lessons from Hathras 2024 and the Kumbh · Bandobast planning: the written deployment plan for a festival, a procession route, a VIP visit or an exam, sector officers, reserves, communication, water and medical arrangements · Protests and strikes: permissions and section 163 BNSS orders, negotiation with organisers, handling students, farmers and trade unions, use of videography, dealing with women protestors · Communal tension: the first thirty minutes after a rumour, peace committees, preventive detention, controlling social media rumours, protecting places of worship, impartiality under political pressure · VIP security basics: the Yellow Book and Blue Book, categories of protectees, route and venue sanitisation, the anti-sabotage check, the SI's job on the outer cordon, and the lesson of the Punjab convoy breach of 2022 · Elections and major events: the Model Code of Conduct, EVM strong rooms, flying squads, counting day security and working under the Election Commission's observers · Disaster response: the first responder role in floods, fires, building collapses and chemical leaks, coordinating with NDRF and SDRF, crowd control at the site, and handling the dead with dignity

13+ seeded questions

Receiving a complaint from a woman at the thana: a woman officer records the statement, no night-time arrest of women without a magistrate's order, zero FIR, medical examination within 24 hours and the two-finger test ban · Offences against women under the BNS and special laws: sexual assault definitions, stalking and voyeurism, acid attack, dowry death, cruelty by husband and relatives, the Domestic Violence Act and the protection officer · POCSO in practice: mandatory reporting, child-friendly recording of statements, the Child Welfare Committee, support persons, special courts and the one-year trial target · Juvenile Justice Act: child in conflict with law versus child in need of care, the Juvenile Justice Board, no handcuffs or lock-ups for children, the Special Juvenile Police Unit and the child welfare police officer · Trafficking and missing children: Anti-Human Trafficking Units, the Track Child and Khoya Paya portals, railway stations as hot spots, bonded and child labour rescue with the labour department · Senior citizens, persons with disabilities, transgender persons and Dalits as complainants: the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act procedures, the Transgender Persons Act, the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents Act, accessibility of the thana · Cyber crimes against women and children: morphed images, sextortion of teenagers, the mandatory reporting of CSAM, coordinating with platforms and the 1930 helpline · Attitude and sensitivity: why survivors withdraw, victim compensation schemes, one-stop centres, the 181 and 1098 helplines, and the SI's responsibility when a constable is dismissive

14+ seeded questions