INDIAN POLICE STORIES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5056, 15 September 1894, Page 2

INDIAN POLICE STORIES.

J (Si .Tamea't Budget.) j Although we ara the colonizing people in the world, thoro is only too'muoh trathia the charge lately brought against ub by a colonial statesman that we know very littlo about; the Empire. Even of India, tho largest and most interesting member of the Empire, our knowledge is mostly Bup9rfioial. We have oftea been told that in India we are walking on • slumbering volcano. The truth of this saying iB brought home to üb, eayß Mr T. 0. Arthur in his " Reniinieci-nceß, M with startling vividness now and again, and an incident here or there reveals to us for the moment the glow of the molten lnasß on the crust of which we walk so blithely. Naturally a police official is inclined to take a Bomowhat gloomy view ot ttaingß. NotthatMr Arthur'sthittyfive years' residence as a police official in India has blinded him to the many virtues" possessed by the people of that country. On the contrary, he recognises their many good qualities, such as noapitality, kind* ness of dioposition, and rugged fidelity* which have survived ages of anarchy and persecution. It is m no hos« tilft spirit, therefore, that Mr Arthur alludoa to certain dominant weaknesses and conspicuous failings of character which force, themselves to the front. Prominent among these is the spirit of vindiotiveness, whioh is the ohief cause of onme in India, anonymous letters being ita favourite expression. These ncousatory letters are received in large numbers . by tho public offices in India every d»yj and though perhaps 90 per cent mo obviously malicious, sonrrilous, and untrue, yet a email number may serve as warnjj ings, put an officer on his guard, or indicate publio feeling in disturbed times. Often grievous and prolonged suffering ii caused to the innocent acoueed through these letters. A WOULD-BE FAEEIOIDE. To illustrate this point Mr Arthur gives . the btory ot one Viuayek D«o, who disappeared, and had it proclaimed that his father hfed killed him, in order that the old man might be hanged. Letters were written and false witnesses secured to' say that the father had murdered his Bon. Old Madhowrao and his housekeeper were arrested, and despite thoir protestations of innocence, detained for months. At last the ohief constable, having his Euepioions, asked for leave of absence, and went about looking for the missing man. Fortunately he found him, brought him back in triumph, acquitted the innocent old couple, and oonvicted the falae witnesses Baloo and Bapoo :— "I beckoned to the police behind the prisoners, and Vinayek Deo was brought almost noiselessly up, when I said to< Madhowrao, 'God iB great! Look behind you, Baba 1 ' He turned, saw his son, and fell flat on his face insensible. The old lady went off into screeching hysterics, bat the two others, so far as I noticed, novcr moved a muscle of their countenances. Wo had the greateat difficult/ in reviving pcor old Madhowrao; in fact, I at one time feared he was a dead man. He was better, however, in the afternoon, though terribly weak, and I was able to resume proceedings with Vinayek Deo aa prisoner No. 1, Baloo No. 2, and Bapoo No. 8. Vinayek Deo made a oloan breast of ifc, confessing that he and that evil-visaged cousin whom we saw at Narrayengaum fait year concocted the plot between them. Yinayek Deo was to disappear suddenly, and make his way in disguise to tho Moglai (Nizam's dominion), and after a Bufficient interval the cousin Luzmanrßo was to get an anonymous petition sent in denouncing Madhowrao and the old lady. Baloo and Bapoo were carefully coached up as to their story, and told not to vary it by a word, and were promised some land rent free when Madhowrao was disposed of. A more fiendish oonspicaoy never entered a Brahmin's brain !" A BTBA.KGE REVENGE. . During the American war large fortunes were made by many cotton-growers in India. Unfortunately prosperity turned their heads, and many of them took to drink, got into difficulties, and even committed Crimea. Among them was a certain Buseapa, who borrowed largely from tbe village baDker, Dawohund. Being unable to pay back any of the money, and failing to get fresh advances, he took to drink, went from bad to worse, and at last killed his son, took the body to the house of the, money lender, and threatened to aoouse him of the crime unlesß he gave a receipt in full discharge of all the debts. Frightened out of hi* life, Dewchund did as he was bid ; but the cowardly Busiapa, not content with his discharge from the debt, acoueed Dewohund of the murder :— " Dewchund was seized and handed over to the police, and no one doubted that lie really had strangled the poor little fellow, taken his ornaments, and disposed of the body in tbe dead of night. His incoherent protestations, his aeseßvations that Bnseapa had killed his own son, were naturally regarded as the ravings of a detected criminal. The 'Pnnchayat/ Or coroner's jury, found that the little boy had been strangled by Dewchund for tbe sake of his ornaments; and though these were not found in his house, Dewohund was hurried off to jail, and ultimately brought before a magistrate. With some difficulty a ' vakil/ or pleader, was found to defend him. Even he for some time placed no credit in the ghastly Btory Dewchund related ; but at last he induced the magistrate to order a search of Buesaps/s house, aud there, in a bundle of Biumapa/a old clothes, the tew paltry ornaments were found concealed. Buosapa, in his besotted malignity, had forgotten to take them with him and eeorete them in Dewohund'a i house when the alarm was first given ; and the police immediately taking possession of the hou8«, he never found an opportunity of rectifying tha omi«sion afterwards. Kept under atricb Burveillanoe after the discovery of tho ornaments, and unable to obtsip liquor, Buesapa'a nerve gave way in a few days and he. made a cleau breast of it. Dewchund was re- * Reniini9cencos of an Indian Police official. By T. C. Arthur.

leusd, and ia due course Buasapa was arraigned, convicted and hanged." MOHAMMEDAN RIOTS. Considering the wide area, vast population, and large number of races in India, the riots that occur are not many— possibly B dozen in the course of the year; bo marvellously peaceable and law-abiding ia the native population. The chief cauae of Rioting ia the friction caused by conflicting creedß leading to outbursts of fanaticism : — " In almost every riot Mohammedans are concerned, and usually they are the aggressors. This is natural enough, seeing how intolerant and sensitive their religion : 19, and how much there must be repugnant to its precepts in the daily Hindoo life and surroundings. It is not surprising that •when in certain years a noisy Hindoo festival occurs at the same time as a solemn Mohammedan fast, the devout followers of the Prophet should be - scandalized and finally lose patience. The wonder is that these collisions are not much more common than they are, and much more dangerous." A TIPICAIi BIOT. The foregoing remarks remind the writer of such an occasion in the early sixties, when a riot broke out at Dajipur ! in consequence of the Hindoos having carried the palanquin of their god along the main street oast a mosque where the Faithful were at'prayer. A young magistrate, referred to as D— — , happened fortunately to have just arrived at the town on income tax duty, and owing to his prompt and decisive aotion a bloody riot ■waa etopped.. Accompanied by a handful of men he went to the street where the riot was on, and drew the police up across the neok of the lane leading to the moßque, , and accosted a leading Syed who waa trying to keep the Moslems quiet :— ■ "They had scarcely time to utter a few words, however, when the shouts of ' Deen, Been' broke out afresh, and a tremendous shower of stones came from the lower and dark end of the lane. The Foujdar received one large boulder on the knee-cap, D — — had hia helmet knocked off, and several of the police were hit. They charged down the lane two or three times very pluokily, bul could not c&tch any of their assailants, and whenever they formed up again they were again pelted j mercilessly with stones. At last the j Mohammedans summoned up courage to make a determined rush to get through the police line at the Hindoos with the palanquin (these worthies by the way, never tried to help their defenders) j they charged right up to the bayonets, only retreating when two or three of them received Blight flesh -wounds. D shouted to the police to fire blank cartridge (strictly in accordance with the standing orders of the recent troublous timeß). A volley was fired, bnt with no other result than to infuriate the mob, some of whom Dearly succeeded in wresting muaketo from the police, while D was struck over the jaw by a club, and stunned for the moment. Pulling himself together, however, he tried to seize a rioter in front of him, when Beveral others turned, back with uplifted clubs ; ho then drew his revolver, and, aiming low, fired two shots into the 'brown of them,' dropping one man, who, however, was immediately lifted up and carried down a dark passage. The police rushed to his side, ,and D— then gave the word to load with ball, which was done; but the rioters were already cowed, and contented themselves with throwing stones and yelling at intervals as they gradually dispersed along the river bed j and in the neighbourhood lane3 and passages." "THE GENTLE HINDU." ' Like most other countries, India is not free from egrarian troubles; but in all the writer's thirty-five years' experience he rarely heard of a case of cattle-houghing pr mutilation. From this kind of agrarian outrage the average Indian rustic shrinks with horror. It ia quite true that before the Kevenue Survey settled the boundaries of villages and of each mun'fl holding, free fights were common and crowns were cracked in the orthodox Irish fashion ; but " boycotting" and molestation of women are nob known in India : — " In all the cases that came under my notice— as, indeed, in every instance of agrarian murder • brought about by some dispute as to the occupancy of land' — our Aryan brethren respected female life, and eo far justified their title of the ' gontlu Hindu.' In land disputes in India such an atrocity as shooting at, or in any way molesting a woman has yet to be recorded. It has been reserved for ' the foinest pieantry in the wurrld* to earn an infamous distinction for their ingenuity and peisistent oruelty in harassing, maiming and even murdering defenceless females."'