William Sleeman headed ‘Thugee Department’; eliminated thousands of bandits: Anjani Kumar

Hyderabad: Anjani Kumar, Hyderabad City Police Commissioner, delivered a speech on the internationally-acclaimed TED platform, in which he spoke about the evolution of crimes and the way they are dealt with through the times. Kumar is one of the selected few personalities from Hyderabad who have appeared on the TED platform—two times so far.

The event was held in October 2020 in collaboration with Hyderabad’s Stanley College of Engineering and Technology (Women). Anjani Kumar’s speech titled ‘Crimes During Changing Times’ was shared on social media platforms this week.

Anjani Kumar said that the strength of a police officer does not depend on how powerful his weapons are, but how well equipped he is in terms of skill and technology. The police commissioner went on to share how the definition of a ‘modern police’ changed from decades earlier, due to evolving crimes.

“A new batch of police that graduates from academy now, are provided with digital pads, equipped with criminal records from all states and connected to each and every government network,” Kumar said. 

“The strength of networking which our police officers possess now is unprecedented,” he said, adding that it is only due to the evolving nature of crimes that are being committed.

The Hyderabad Commissioner, in his talk, travels back to ancient times when crimes were merely done using force and then how group conspiracies emerged, which were all physical in nature. “But now, we see a man sitting in Eastern Europe can hack your computer to withdraw millions of rupees from your own account,” he added.

He also threw light on the crimes that were political in nature: “In ancient times, when there is a change in government–the process was always violent. Now, thanks to democracy, brute force has no relevance.” The commissioner touched upon concepts of terrorism, crimes against humanity and assassinations, among others.

Kumar also shared the story of Colonel William Henry Sleeman, who was popular for eliminating ‘Thugs’ in central India who had killed over 20,000 pilgrims and traders in a year. Sleeman was appointed as Superintendent of the Thuggee Department, which entailed launching campaigns against Thugs in northern and central India, who “in the duration of 30-40 years in service, eliminated the whole Thugee system in India,” he said.
From threatening public order to the technology used for nuanced types of crime, Anjani Kumar explained that society gets disturbed at large.

He concluded with a major emphasis and appeal to the citizens on how they can support the frontline fighters against these evolving crimes, simply by being cooperative, aware and diligent in their own rights and the rights of their fellow citizens.

Watch the full talk here: 

YouTube video