From our research
What this interview looks like
Sub-inspector selection varies by state. Maharashtra's MPSC runs a short interview after the mains and the physical test, Tamil Nadu's TNUSRB holds a viva-voce of 10 marks, West Bengal's WBPRB ends with a personality test, and Karnataka's civil PSI scheme has carried a viva-voce after the written paper. Punjab, Haryana, Kerala, Gujarat and Delhi Police through SSC CPO currently select on written and physical tests with no interview, so for those candidates the next face-to-face encounters are the document-verification interaction and the departmental boards during probation and promotion. Where a board sits, it is three to five officers, usually chaired by a DIG or SP-rank officer, for ten to twenty minutes, and it mixes English with Hindi or the state language. It probes background and fitness, basic criminal law under the BNS, BNSS and BSA, local policing in the candidate's district, cyber crime, and above all presence of mind in field situations: a mob, a VIP convoy, a custody incident, a bribe. Marks are small compared with the written paper but they decide ties and borderline ranks. The ExamPilot mock compresses this into fourteen minutes with the same four voices and scores awareness, situational judgement, integrity and communication.
How it is weighted
No interview marks in the current Punjab Police and HSSC SI schemes; selection is on the written test and physical tests. Use this mock for document verification, the probation-confirmation board, and the attachment and posting interviews where a DSP or SSP sizes you up.
Who this is for
Candidates for Punjab Police SI (computer-based test, PMT and PST, document verification) and Haryana HSSC SI (knowledge test, PST and PMT). Neither state currently holds a recruitment interview; this board prepares you for the document-verification interaction and the departmental and probation boards every new SI faces in the first years, in Punjabi, Hindi and English.
The panel focuses on
- Home district, sport and fitness, and why policing in Punjab or Haryana
- BNS and BNSS basics and the NDPS Act as applied at a border or highway thana
- Punjab context: drones and heroin across the border, the gangster network, VIP convoy security after 2022; Haryana context: Gurugram cyber hub, the farmer protests on the Delhi borders, khap and caste tensions
- Cyber and economic offences around Gurugram and Mohali call centres and loan-app rackets
- Field situations: a dera or farmer blockade, a VIP route breach, a drug seizure where a colleague wants to underweigh
- Integrity, temper and family readiness for a disturbed border posting
Step 1
Pick your subject
The expert on the panel probes these areas at the level of this post. Optional here; you can choose during setup.
Step 2
Choose how you want to be interviewed
1:1 interview
One interviewer runs every round and adapts the focus as you go. Lower pressure; ideal for a first attempt.
Shri Devendra Singh Rathore, IPS (Retd.)
Chairperson
Panel interview · 3 members
Most realisticEach member leads their own round and hands over to the next. They hear each other, so a weak answer will be revisited.
Shri Devendra Singh Rathore, IPS (Retd.)
Chairperson
Smt. Anjali Deshpande, IPS
External member
Dr. Kailash Nair
Psychologist
What to expect
5 rounds · 14 minutes
A uniformed-service board compressed into 14 minutes: a senior officer chairs and opens on background, fitness and motivation; an external member tests working knowledge of criminal law, local policing and cyber crime in the candidate's chosen area; the chair then puts field situations on mobs, VIP duty, custody, corruption and communal tension; a board psychologist probes pressure and integrity; the chair closes. Real state police SI boards and the IB ACIO interview sit three to five members for 10 to 25 minutes, mix English with Hindi or the state language, and weigh presence of mind and integrity above textbook recall.
- Round 1
Background, fitness and motivation
· 3:00Settle the candidate, understand their home district, education, sport and fitness routine, and hear a credible reason for choosing the police or intelligence service over other government jobs.
Shri Devendra Singh Rathore, IPS (Retd.)2–3 questionsup to 1 follow-up each - Round 2
Law, local policing and cyber crime
· 4:00Test working knowledge in the candidate's chosen area: criminal law basics under the new codes, local policing and the state context, cyber and economic offences, internal security, public order or protection of women and children.
Smt. Anjali Deshpande, IPS3–4 questionsup to 2 follow-ups each - Round 3
Field situations
· 4:00Assess presence of mind, lawful use of force, chain of command and integrity through two field situations: a mob or communal flashpoint, a VIP duty, a custody incident or a bribe or political pressure.
Shri Devendra Singh Rathore, IPS (Retd.)2–2 questionsup to 1 follow-up each - Round 4
Pressure and integrity
· 2:00Probe temperament, stress tolerance and personal integrity: how the candidate reacts to provocation, failure, long hours away from family, and temptation.
Dr. Kailash Nair1–2 questionsup to 1 follow-up each - Round 5
Closing
· 1:00Close the interview professionally and check readiness for the realities of posting and training.
Shri Devendra Singh Rathore, IPS (Retd.)1–1 questions
Sample questions
Police SI Punjab-Haryana SI interview questions
Questions panels commonly ask in the Police SI Punjab-Haryana SI interview, with what a strong answer covers. Practise them aloud with the AI panel.
- NDPS procedure
At a highway naka in Punjab, you stop a car and find a packet you suspect is heroin. What procedural safeguards must you follow so the case survives in court?
What a strong answer covers
Informs the suspect of his right to be searched before a gazetted officer or magistrate under Section 50 of the NDPS Act where it applies, conducts search and seizure with independent witnesses, prepares the seizure memo, seals and samples per procedure, and informs superiors promptly. Avoid shortcuts that make the recovery inadmissible.
- Border security
A drone is spotted dropping a package near a border village at night. What do you do as the SI of the nearest thana?
What a strong answer covers
Informs the BSF and senior officers immediately, secures the area without touching the package until it is checked, collects information from villagers, and coordinates search operations as per protocol. Avoid acting alone or handling the package unsafely.
- Integrity
During a seizure, a colleague suggests underweighing the recovered drugs to show a lesser quantity. What do you do?
What a strong answer covers
Refuses, records the correct weight and procedure, and reports the matter to a senior officer, recognising that tampering with evidence is a serious crime. Avoid going along with it to maintain relations.
- Public order
A farmer protest blocks a national highway near your area and ambulances are stuck. How would you manage?
What a strong answer covers
Negotiates with protest leaders to open a lane for emergency vehicles, coordinates diversions, keeps calm and avoids force unless necessary under orders, and keeps seniors informed. Avoid confrontation that escalates.
- Cyber crime
Gurugram has many call centres. How do loan-app and fake call-centre frauds work, and how would you investigate?
What a strong answer covers
Explains fake loan apps that harvest phone contacts and harass borrowers, and call centres impersonating banks or tech support; investigation traces money trails through bank accounts and mule accounts, phone numbers and IP addresses, coordinating with banks, telecom companies and cyber cells. Avoid vague answers about hackers.
- Vulnerable groups
A khap panchayat threatens a couple who married against family wishes and asks police to stay away. What is your duty?
What a strong answer covers
Protects the couple's right to marry by choice, provides security on request, registers cases against those issuing threats, and engages community elders without yielding to pressure, as courts have directed police to protect such couples. Avoid treating it as a private family matter.
- VIP security
On VIP route duty in Chandigarh, an unknown car slips through your barricade minutes before the convoy. What are your immediate actions, and what follows later?
What a strong answer covers
Alerts the control room and convoy security at once by wireless, coordinates to stop and check the vehicle safely, keeps the route sealed, and later records the lapse, reviews how the barricade was breached and reports honestly. Avoid panic, firing without cause or hiding the lapse.
- Motivation
Why policing in Punjab or Haryana specifically, and how have you kept up your running and physical training since the PET?
What a strong answer covers
A genuine reason tied to the state, such as drugs affecting your own area or a police officer you saw at work, plus an honest, current fitness routine. A strong answer shows knowledge of the local challenges. Avoid generic motivation or exaggerating fitness the board may test.
- Resilience
A border posting may keep you away from family for long stretches, with tense nights. How will you manage the stress, and whom will you turn to?
What a strong answer covers
Practical coping strategies such as routine, exercise, staying connected with family, talking to colleagues or seniors and using welfare support, and the self-awareness to recognise stress early. Avoid denying that stress exists or relying on alcohol.
Reading is not rehearsing. Answer these out loud to an AI Police SI Punjab-Haryana SI panel that follows up like the real one.
Practise these questionsMeet the panel
Your AI interviewers
Distinct personas, voices and questioning styles, briefed on this post.
Shri Devendra Singh Rathore, IPS (Retd.)
ChairChairperson
Retired Deputy Inspector General of Police; chairs state police sub-inspector interview boards
Firm, unhurried, old-school courteous, sharp on sequence and chain of command, dislikes bravado.
Male voice · 5 languages
Smt. Anjali Deshpande, IPS
External member
Superintendent of Police, State Cyber Crime Cell; external member on police and IB boards
Quick, precise, practical, enjoys a candidate who reasons from a real case, intolerant of section-number recitation without understanding.
Female voice · 5 languages
Dr. Kailash Nair
Psychologist
Police training academy psychologist; board member for stress and integrity assessment
Quiet, observant, non-judgemental, asks short questions and waits, notices rehearsed answers.
Male voice · 5 languages
Languages
Answer in the language you think in
The panel asks in your chosen language. Switch mid-answer if you like.
- English
- हिंदीHindi
- Hinglish (Hindi + English)Hinglish
How scoring works
A report you can act on
Every round is scored on the rubric
Each interviewer scores only the criteria their round covers. Weights add up to your overall score out of 100.
Only what you actually said counts
Feedback quotes your own answers. Rounds you skip show as “Not assessed” rather than a zero.
Communication is always measured
Fluency, clarity, confidence and structure are tracked across the whole interview, in any language.
Pass mark, then a plan
You see the pass mark for this interview, your gaps, and the courses that close them fastest.
Scored on
- Legal and policing awareness30%
Working knowledge of the BNS, BNSS and BSA basics, FIR and arrest procedure, local policing structure and state context, cyber and economic offences, internal security; states the law correctly in plain words and does not bluff.
- Situational judgement30%
Handles mobs, VIP duty, custody, bribery and communal tension with the right sequence: life and safety first, lawful minimum force, inform seniors and the magistrate where required, record everything, no shortcuts; gives concrete first actions rather than slogans.
- Integrity and composure under pressure20%
Honest about weaknesses, gaps and other attempts; refuses illegal orders and bribes with a workable plan rather than bravado; stays calm when the board pushes or disagrees; realistic about the stress and hours of the job.
- Communication and bearing20%
Clear, brief, respectful in English, Hindi or the state language; answers the question asked; gives orders and explanations a constable or a complainant would follow; good posture and eye contact implied in the voice.
Pass mark 60 / 100 · Police and intelligence service interview board
Keep exploring
More Police SI interviews
- Police SI Maharashtra PSI interviewGraduates, 19–31 years (relaxations apply), MPSC Combined Group B
- Police SI Karnataka PSI interviewGraduates, 21–28 years (relaxations apply), Karnataka State Police
- Police SI TN-Kerala SI interviewGraduates, 20–30 years (TN, relaxations apply) / 20–31 years (Kerala), Tamil or Malayalam required
- Police SI WB-Gujarat SI interviewGraduates, 20–27 years (WB, relaxations apply) / 21–35 years (Gujarat), Bengali or Gujarati expected
- Police SI Delhi Police SI interviewGraduates, 20–25 years (relaxations apply), SSC CPO