1 REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NORTHERN INDIA
2 PENAL ACTION oF being removed when a party of villagers, about 60 to 70 strong,
3 THE DEPARTMENT. headed by one Akbar Ali, servant of Bhareh Khan, khan and
4 lambardar’ of Battal, attacked and assaulted our establish-
5 ment and rescued the prisoners and forcibly took possession
6 of the salt that had been seized. The original accused, six in
7 number, were all punished on the charge of illicit possession of
8 salt with fine aggregating Rs. 45, while they and twelve others
9 were punished under sections 147 and 225, Indian Penal Code,
10 with rigorous imprisonment, ageregating 19 months, includ-
11 ing periods of solitary confinement and fines aggregating
12 Rs. 201. In the Mansehra sub-section altogether 28 seizures of
13 Kohat salt were effected, representing 44 maunds 6 seers 7}
14 chattacks, and 71 persons concerned. Of these, 10 were cases
15 of house search in which 13 maunds 9 seers 5 chattacks of salt
16 were found illicitly stored. The remaining 18 were cases
17 where the salt was being imported when it was seized, the
18 aggregate quantity of the salt being 30 maunds 37 seers 24
19 chattacks. These are by far the most important class of cases,
20 six others (aggregating 1 seer 134 chattacks of salt). were of
21 quantities under one seer. The establishment consists of only
22 1 inspector, 1 jamaddr and 10 peons, the length of line to be
23 guarded being 70 miles, and the party has certainly done good
24 _ work, at the same time that there has been no attempt to oppress
25 . the people or use harshly the powers which the salt laws
26 give.
27 The following seizures of earth salt, important by reason
28 of the large quantity of salt seized, were effected by the
29 Inspector and 4 peons who patrol the Dera Ghazi Khan Dis-
30 trict :—
31 (1) 1 maund 20 seers salt... 1 person.
32 (2)4 ,, 10: Ce me
33 (3)4 4 89 4 oe, cat
34 The police also effected a seizure of 2 maunds of sal‘.
35 No noticeable cases occurred at Sambhar or Didwana, and no
36 seizures at all took place at the Delhi salt sources. At Pach-
37 badra only three cases occurred, concerning which the Assistant
38 Commissioner says :—‘ That thefts were fewer was owing to the
39 abundance of highly paid work obtainable in the tract and to
40 the richness of the harvest. Considering how ample -is the
41 cover in the tract owing to the brushwood growing in it, in-
42 equalities of the ground and pit banks, and how easy it would
43 be for the thieves to enter and leave the tract, the wonder is
44 that thefts are not more frequent; and that they are not so is in
45 the main due to the certainty of detection and arrest owing to the
46 cleverness of the trackers, who never fail, if put ona fairly
47 fresh track, to find the thieves.” There were no seizure cases
48 deserving special notice either at Falodi or on the Luni tract
49 or in the Internal Branch during the year.
50 ADMINISTRATION 78. Details of the prosecutions of members of the force
51 DURING THE YEAR, for Criminal offences committed during the year are given
52 Criminal offercescomuit- below. The man who committed murder wasea peon of the
53 ted by establishment, = _Pynjdb Mines Division. He murdered his mother-in-law while
54 he was away at his village on casual leave, and being arrested
55 ( 68 )