Thomas Perry and the First Arrests

Abstract

Having taken over from the discredited Law as Magistrate of Etawah, Perry was expected to exceed his predecessor’s efforts and succeed in apprehending the murderers who infested the roads of the district. Between 1808 and 1809, a total of 67 bodies had been found in wells and along the high roads in Etawah, and in the first three months of 1810, 11 more bodies were found between Mainpuri and Agra.¹ By making inquiries with zamindars and other ‘respectable persons’ Perry found that the offenders were not ‘a barbarous and savage race living in ravines and jungles’ as previously thought, but said to be inhabitants of the district and protected by ‘mercenary individuals’.² In view of this Perry offered a reward of Rs 1000 — a vast sum at the time — for information that could lead to the apprehension of the perpetrators. This strategy paid off and in March 1810 the daroghas of Shekohabad arrested eight suspected thugs, one of whom agreed to testify against his accomplices in return for a pardon.³