1 SALT REVENUE DEPARTMENT FOR THE OFFICIAL YEAR 1893-94,
2 ,
3 77. The following is a brief account of a few notable prnan action oF
4 seizures of Kohat salt which occurred in the Mansehra sub- THEDEPARTMENT..
5 section or northern end of the Indus line, and of rudely manu- Summary of the chief
6 seizure cases during
7 factured earth salt in the Dera,.Ghazi Khan district :— ie eat
8 (1) Altaf Ali, Inspector,and party were on the watch on the
9 night of the 7th November 1893 near the village of Hehr on
10 the Amb border, when three Gujars came along from Agror
11 with 1 maund 32 seers of salt. They showed fight, and one
12 throwing down his head-load of salt ran away. The jamadar
13 of the party pursued him, and aftera run of nearly two miles
14 overtook him in a stream. The night was dark and the
15 locality hilly and thickly wooded with deodar. Before the
16 jamadar could close with the Gujar, the. latter struck hin
17 twice with stones, and as he closed with him, with a stick.
18 Both the men rolled over in the water, but the jamadar eventually
19 secured his man, At this juncture six villagers turned out froin
20 a hamlet near by to rescue the Gujar, but the jamadar by
21 threats jrevented their attempting a rescie. When all the
22 smugglers had been secured and the Inspector was escorting
23 them away, a party of 20 villagers turned out to rescue them;
24 but they, too, were deterred by the fear that the party had fire
25 arms, the Inspector having warned them that he would fire
26 on them. The Magistrate who tried this case awarded the
27 jamadar a special reward of Rs. 5, and gave him a letter com-
28 mending him for the “great dash and intrepidity’”” with which
29 he behaved in arresting the Gujar. The acetised were ‘punish-
30 ed with 14 days’ rigorous imprisonment and. Rs. 10 fine each.
31 (2) At Nawigharie, in Agror, Altaf Aliand party were
32 watching for smugglers on the night of the 22nd November
33 1893, and seized 13 men carrying head loads of Kohat salt in the
34 direction of Jallgulli. The salt was purchased at Darband and
35 Bhajna in Amb territory, and weighed 9 maunds 32 seers. The
36 Pacaptors numbered only 6, while the smugglers were 13
37 thans and Gujars. They resisted and used their sticks, and
38 the Inspector’s party were forced to draw their swords in
39 self-defence; but they behaved with great forbearance,’ in-
40 flicting only three trifling wounds on the smugglers. The
41 smugelers were-all punished with 14 days ’rigorous imprison-
42 ment and Rs. 5 fine each.
43 (3) This seizure was also effected at Nawigharie in Agror,
44 where Altaf Ali, Inspector, and party were on the watch on the
45 night of the 26th February 1894. The smugglers numbered six,
46 and the salt was being imported from Amb territory on seven
47 mules and a pony; it weighed 17maunds 224 seers. As usual,
48 the smugglers resisted and used their sticks, but they were
49 secured without one man having to draw his sword. They
50 were all punished suitably, and the Magistrate who triéd the
51 case drew attention to the behaviour of Altaf Ali, Inspector,
52 and the jamadir in effecting the scizure.. The mules and pony
53 were confiscated.
54 (4) On information received, Inspector Altaf Ali and
55 party, aided by.a 1st grade constable of police, searched some
56 houses in the village of Deolie, Thana Shinkari, for Kohat salt.
57 About 8 maunds of salt was found, and it and the accused were
58 ( 67 )