Editorial Board Contents - Bureau of Police Research and ...

“Sleeman sahib ki jai”“No Crime has been without a precedent”- SenecaShri Vijai Shukul, IPS (Retd.)No, this is not from ‘Jai ho’ of A.R. Rehman, buta charming and entirely spontaneous expressionof joy and affection coming from the villagers ofSaleemnabad, a town 70 kms from Jabalpur onhighway no. 7 towards Benaras. The occasionwas visit of the grandson of Sir W.H. Sleeman,Col. James Lewis Sleeman, along with his son,on 6 th February 1937. Col. J.L. Sleeman wasaccompanied by G.W. Benton, IP (Suptd Police,Jabalpur). In the year 1836-37, Sir WilliamSleeman, while touring Jabalpur district, hadcome across a village named Khoka, where hesettled landless labourers by taking 96 acres ofland from the Government as Maufi-land. In1839, the village was named Saleemnabad afterthe name of its benefactor and a railway stationof the same name stands close by. About half amile from the village, there was a tiny hamlet,where, a holy man of Krishna order, namedBaba Haridas lived. Sleeman had already beenmarried for four years and had no children.While passing Khoka, Baba Haridas remarkedthat it was a holy place and all who came herewould be blessed with a son. Sleeman jokinglypromised, that if his prophecy came true, hewould present the village with a large sum ofmoney. The prophecy did come true, as Sleemana year later, while camping at a village in Sagar,was blessed with a son. Sleeman, not forgettinghis promise, donated a large sum of money tothe village. Haridas by that time had died and ashrine was made in his memory. To perpetuatethe memory of the founder and the benefactorof the village, a brass lamp was placed in thememory of Sleeman, which continues to remainlit since last 150 years. Two ladies of the Sleemanfamily, out of curiosity, visited Khoka in recentyears and were also blessed with sons within ayear. The Sleeman family has, thus, continuedits association with Saleemnabad.During his visit Col. James Sleeman was takenout in a procession through triumphal arches andstreets lined with buntings. Village ladies withshining bright brass ‘Lotas’, followed singing.The affection showered was for a man whomthey revered as ‘Baba Sleeman’. Under a hugeshamiana, the village elders presented Col. JamesSleeman with two memoranda. In the words ofCol. James Sleeman, “for where else in the worldtoday would one find such generous expressionof gratitude for services rendered over a centuryago”. Col. James L. Sleeman also visited theshrine of Baba Haridas to pay his obeisance, andthe old police station building, designed by hisgrand father and constructed under his directionin 1843. The whole visit to Saleemnabad waslike a page from the Arabian Nights, so wroteCol. James Lewis Sleeman.On 8 th February 1937, Col. James Sleeman visitedthe Court House at Jabalpur, where Sleemansenior had tried more than 2000 Thugs. He wasintrigued by the stone pedestal upon which theThugs were made to sit during his grandfather'ssearching interrogations, with lights of threewindows directly upon them. He also met a 92yrs old Thug, a Kanjar, whom Sleeman had triedand was liberated at the age of 74. An acre ofland was given to settle the descendants of theThugs, which is today called the Kanjar mohalla,it is also called ‘Gurandi’ from the Persian word‘Goyanda’, which means, one who speaks, thatis an approver.Col. James Sleeman also visited the site of the oldjail, which no longer exists and the reformatoryschool called the Darikhana or the School ofIndustry, presently with the Home Guards,Jabalpur. There he met the descendants of theThugs. A plaque is still embedded on the wallof the building to commemorate the founding ofThe Indian Police Journal, October - December, 2012, Special Issue 1