History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.929.2

v4.c63.929.2

261-266) states that in order to find out such thieves the king should employ spies in various disguises at various places such as meeting halls, refreshment rooms, brothels, wineshops, theatres &c. The concealed thieves are those who move about with tools for house-breaking without being observed and whose residence is not known; they are principally⁹⁵⁰ of nine kinds viz. one who quietly relieves a man of his money when the latter is attending to something else, a house-breaker, a highway robber (who robs travellers), a cut-purse, one who steals (or kidnaps) a woman or a man, cattle, horses and other animals. Yāj. II. 266-268 and Nār. (pariśiṣṭa 9-12) indicate the various ways in which thieves may be detected and caught viz. by the (police) officers recovering a part of the booty from a man or by tracing foot-steps, or by seizing one who has been often found to be a thief, or by finding out that the man suspected cannot state his place of residence; and they recommend that on suspicion others may be caught, if on being questioned they attempt to conceal their caste or name or if they are found addicted to gambling, wine and women or if their mouth becomes dry or their voice changes or if they spend lavishly though they have no ostensible means of earning, or those who sell lost or second-hand goods or who move about in disguise or who are found making inquiries about others' houses or wealth. The Mit. on Yāj.⁹⁵¹ II. 268 quotes Nār.