Thuggee and Dacoity Department

The Thuggee and Dacoity Department, also called Thagi and Dakaiti Department, was an organ of the East India Company,^[1] and inherited by British India, which was established in 1830^[2] with the mission of addressing dacoity (banditry), highway robbery, and particularly the Thuggee cult of robbers.

Thagi and Dakaiti Department
Agency overview
Formed	1830
Dissolved	October 1903
Superseding agency	Department of Criminal Intelligence
Jurisdictional structure
Legal jurisdiction	British India
Governing body	Government of India
General nature	Secret police
Operational structure
Child agency	Central Special Branch

Among the department's more recognised members was Colonel William Sleeman, who headed the outfit from 1835 to 1839 and is known as the man who eliminated the Thuggee.^[2] In 1874, Sir Edward Bradford, 1st Baronet was made General Superintendent of the Thuggee and Dacoit Department.

According to Percy William Powlett in the Gazetteer of Ulwur magazine, the Meena tribe was known as infamous marauders which put under heavy surveillance by the Thuggee and Dacoity Department's agent in Alwar city.^[3]

The department existed until 1904, when it was replaced by the Central Criminal Intelligence Department.^[4]