Moon Gazer continues……

Members of the tribe take turns as watchmen, whose job it is to alert the villagers if they notice a police party approaching the village. The village has a well-established contingency plan. The inhabitants dig ditches around the village, which work as a moat. If a large police party is seen approaching the village, water from the tube wells is released into these ditches, thereby cutting the village off from the approach road. The womenfolk intercept the policemen at a safe distance from the village and engage them in animated conversation, allowing the criminals enough time to swim across the moat and disappear into the jungles.

If the police party is small, the villagers do not hesitate to attack it. Members of this criminal community, after committing heinous offences, rush to their deras (temporary camps) where they quickly weigh the stolen jewellery and count the cash. The women then conceal the booty in their long skirts and return to the village. Out of the booty, the lion’s share(25 per cent) is taken by the gang leader and the remaining is divided amongst every member of the gang, including the leader, equally. Thus the leader gets an equal share over and above his 25 per cent. They also have regular receivers of jewellery to whom the booty is sold.

I collated the findings of our study into two monographs that were in great demand then, not only  within  the  Delhi Police but also by the law Enforcement agencies of neighbouring states that also regularly suffered from the crimes committed by the marauders.

Sustained preventive efforts made by the Delhi Police and the forces of the bordering states had the desired result, and gradually, crimes committed by these gangs abated.

To be continued…….