A Study on the Criminal Groups Operating in North Bengal (1861-1912)

There was a marked increase in the reported number of crimes and criminal groups in North Bengal after the introduction of the police act of 1861 followed by the criminal tribes’ act of 1871 in colonial India. Secondly, immigration of the criminal groups via river- routes, dramatically increased cases of dacoity, theft, and violence in North Bengal. The most notorious among these criminal groups were the mallahs, chain mallahs, kepmaris, karnal nuts, and pasi. Hence, this paper intends to study these two interrelated issues of crime and public disorder that emerged in north Bengal.