Read the following passage carefully about the role of law, order, army, and police in society. Then answer the question. According to the writer, which one of the following is NOT a responsibility of the police as described in the passage?

Introduction / Context:
This question is based on a passage that distinguishes between the roles of the army and the police in maintaining law and order. The passage explains what laws do, how good and bad citizens respond to them, and which authority controls law enforcement. The question asks which activity is NOT the responsibility of the police according to the writer. To answer, we must understand when the army is mentioned and when the police are mentioned, and how their roles differ in normal and abnormal times.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The army maintains law and order in abnormal times.
• In normal times, another force compels citizens to obey the law.
• This other force protects lives and property and ensures respect for the rights of communities and castes.
• Laws secure safety of persons and property and protect rights within limits.
• The minister responsible to the State Assembly controls law and order through the Inspector General of Police.

Concept / Approach:
We must identify the scope of police responsibility as described in the passage. The key idea is that the passage clearly attributes abnormal times to the army and normal times to the force working under the minister, which is the police. Any option that assigns an essentially army based duty to the police will not match the passage. Therefore, we compare each option with the functions of the police as implied in the text, especially protection, enforcement, and maintenance of peace in normal conditions.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify police functions from the passage. The force under the minister protects lives, property, and rights, and compels bad citizens to behave like good citizens by enforcing laws. Step 2: Check option A. Protecting the privilege and rights of citizens is consistent with the passage, because laws protect rights of communities and individuals as long as they do not violate others rights. Step 3: Check option B. Checking violent activities of citizens is also consistent, since laws prevent murder and crimes of violence, and the police enforce those laws. Step 4: Check option C. Ensuring peace among citizens by safeguarding individual rights also matches the described role of the force that enforces laws during normal times. Step 5: Check option D. Maintaining peace during extraordinary or abnormal circumstances is explicitly linked to the army in the passage, not to the police. Thus, this activity is not primarily a responsibility of the police in the context of the passage. Step 6: Option E broadly reflects enforcement during normal times, so it fits the passage.

Verification / Alternative check:
A quick way to verify is to focus on the very first line of the passage, which states that it is the function of the army to maintain law and order in abnormal times, and that in normal times another force does so. Since the question asks about the responsibility of the police, and the passage places abnormal times under the army, any option that exclusively concerns abnormal circumstances is unlikely to be correct for the police. Option D exactly fits that description, confirming that it is not a responsibility of the police in this passage.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A is wrong as a choice for this question because it is indeed part of police duty to protect rights under the law. Option B is wrong as a choice because controlling violent acts follows from enforcing laws against crimes of violence. Option C is wrong as a choice because maintaining peace by protecting rights is a central idea in the passage. Option E is wrong as a choice because enforcing laws that protect life and property is exactly what the passage describes as the work of this force in normal times.

Common Pitfalls:
Students often overlook the contrast between normal and abnormal times introduced at the beginning. Another frequent error is to assume that any security related activity belongs to the police, ignoring that the passage clearly reserves some extreme situations for the army. It is important to read the first lines carefully, identify which body is active in which context, and then match each option to the correct agency.

Final Answer:
The responsibility that does NOT belong to the police according to the passage is maintaining peace during abnormal and extraordinary circumstances, which is mainly the function of the army.