Thug Under Section 310 Of IPC

 

History And Evolution Of Thug Under Section 310 Of IPC And Its Legal Approach

What Is Thug Or Thuggee Under Section 310 Of IPC?

Thug Is Basically A Person Who Is Involved In Act Of Thugee Which Is a crime such as assault, robbery, or murder After Stealing Of Gold Chains Or Movable Property Carried By A Person.

It Has Many Types And It Is One Of Most Severe Form Of Crime, In Many Portions Of India Such As Rajasthan And Madhya Pradesh The Act Of Thuggee Was Common In Old Days Against Tourists Or Businessmans Going To One Place To Another Place.

Thug Definition From IPC

Whoever, at any time after the passing of 

this Act, shall have been habitually 

associated with any other or others for the 

purpose of committing robbery or child-

stealing by means of or accompanied with 

murder, is a thug. (1)

Punishment For Thug

Whoever is a thug, shall be punished with 

imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable 

to fine. 

CLASSIFICATION OF OFFENCE

Punishment—Imprisonment for life and fine.

Cognizable—Non-bailable—

Triable by 

Court 

of Session—

Non-compoundable.

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The Term Thug Can Be Found In CrPC Too In Section 40(b) And 181 :

sec 40 (b) :the resort to any place within, or the passage through, such village of any person whom he 

knows, or reasonably suspects, to be a thug, robber, escaped convict or proclaimed offender;

Sec 181(1): Any offence of being a thug, or murder committed by a 

thug, of dacoity, of dacoity with murder, of belonging to a gang of dacoits, or of escaping from custody, may be 

inquired into or tried by a Court within whose local jurisdiction the offence was committed or the accused person is 

found.

Nature of the crime

The Thugs were a well-organized confederacy of professional assassins, who in gangs of from 10 to 200 traveled in various guises through India, They Used To Look For People On Whom They Can Attack Or Make Plan To Attack. 

When they used to find a Favourable situation, they strangled them by throwing a handkerchief or noose round their necks, and then plundered and buried them, It Generally Was Ended With The Murder Of That Person.

They After Taking The Person In Their Custody Used to loot his property from him.

Or They Used To Get Friendly With Tourist On Their Journey And Suddenly When The Time Came Did The Act

Generally Horses, Camels, Etc Were Stolen From Them Too.

History Of Thug In India

To The Best Of My Knowledge The Act Of Thuggee Was Practiced By Not Only Hindu Tribes But Muslims Also, Although It Is Not Considered To Be Crime Based On Religious Beliefs But For The Need, It Must Have Started A Long Time Ago But Came In Notice Of People During 12th Century

The First Act Of Thuggee Which Was Recorded Was In 13th Century By Arbi Or Muslim Historians of that Time Like Many Mentions, The first European travellers who speak of them without mentioning their name are Thevenot (1665) and Fryer (1673) According To 1902 Encyclopedia.

The Act Of Thuggee Was In Existence At Large In British Rule Also, Britishers Never Seen India As Their Colony But As A Source Of Income That's Why They Never Cared About The Nature And Crimes In India But After Several Attacks Made On Them Made Their Nights Sleepless... They Took Some Strict Action Against Thuggee, General Sir W.H. Sleeman (1788 - 1856), Was One Of the British officer whose relentless campaign eliminated the Thug menace Effectively.

Alot Of Articles Were Written By Unsung People Like Reinhold Rost On Thuggee.

However Some Of Thugs Used To Consider Themselves As Devotees Of Maa Kali And Did It As Duty Or Custom It Was Still A Big Problem To Face, If We Look At IPC Which was enacted In 1860 Thuggee Was Still A Big Trouble, Big Enough To Make Place In IPC.

One More Point Of View Is Seen Here is That Thugs Considered British, Marwari Or Merchant Community Etc Their Enemy, And Did The Act Of Rebellion In Popular Culture Seen In Bengal Cannot Be Denied, Which Is Still Claimed By Locals Out Of Castiesm.

According To Wikipedia

Thugs are said to have operated as gangs of highway robbers, tricking and later strangling their victims. To take advantage of their victims, the thugs would join travellers and gain their confidence, which would allow them to surprise and strangle the travellers with a handkerchief or noose.They would then rob and bury their victims.[ This led to the thugs being called Phansigar ("using a noose"), a term more commonly used in southern India.

Thug Behram

Thug Behram Was One Of Most Feard And Popular Thug From His Time, according to British Record He Was Involved In Nearly 900 Thuggee, Later He Was Hanged Till Death By Company Raaj.

From His Example It is Clear That How Horrible The Act Of Thuggee Was.

How Thuggee Ended In India

Britishers Were Sick And Tired Of Thugs And Made Many Strict Laws Regarding The Thuggee And Related Crimes

Some Of Them Were

•Thuggee and Dacoity Suppression Acts, 1836–48  (And Many Amendments)

• Indian Penal Code S.310

The Laws And Actions Against Thuggee Were Getting Strict Day By Day On October 13, 1830, the Governor authorised Captain Sleeman to put down the system of Thuggee. Between 1826 and 1835, a total of 1562 thugs were tried; 382 sentenced to death, 909 to transportation, 77 to imprisonment for life.

Major-general Sir William Henry Sleeman Is Considered To Be One Of Important Person in all This, He Also Mentioned Above.

Company Raaj Was So Troubled By Such Acts That The Company in 1810 passed Regulation which defined the penalties for zamindars, Merchant Etc who did not pass information on crimes committed by thugs.

Now In 2023 No Act Of Thuggee can be seen In India After Establishment Of Significant Laws And Development Of Judiciary. Although It Is Still A Topic Of Debate That Whether All Thugs Were Wrong Or Not But In This Article i Have Tried To Explain The Legal Approach Of The Offence Only.

- Anmol Vyas