Administrative System of the Marathas c20.s12: 16. The Police
Administrative System of the Marathas c20.s12
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16. The Police
c20.s12.1
From the prison we shall now turn to the police. Here, as in the judicial administration, it will be convenient to begin from the village. The village police was under the Patil, and the chief police officer in the rural republics was the Mahar. The district police was under the Mamlatdar.
c20.s12.2
In detection of crime the Jaglas or village watchmen, consisting generally of Mahars and Mangs, were helped by criminal tribes as the Ramoshis, Bhils, and Kolis. Unless the stolen property could be recovered or the offence could be traced to some other village, the Police and the criminal classes had to compensate the party robbed. All responsibility however ended with the detection of the offenders or tracing the offence to another village. In the latter case the inhabitants of the place to which the offence had been traced were liable to make compensation. But sufficient proof had to be put forward for such suspicion before the police and the criminal tribes could shake off their responsibility. Mr. V. K. Rajwade has published an incomplete report of such a tracing of offence in the 10th Volume of his Sources of Maratha History (page 116). The case is so interesting that we wish that the rest of the report could have been recovered. Abaji Khando, an officer, was going home with a report from Dada Saheb. He was robbed by thieves near Khandyala. The people of Khandyala traced the offence as far as Bhuinj. Thence it ought to have been traced towards Chingholi, but the Ramoshis, by a common compact, asserted that the Ramoshis of Khadki had committed the offence and also induced Abaji Khando to support their assertion. The Ramoshis of Khadki were thereupon thrown into prison, but there was no proof whatever against them. Abaji Khando's loss was valued at Rs. 30, and it was settled that the Ramoshis of seven villages should subscribe the amount.