Report on the Depredations Committed by the Thug Gangs of Upper and Central India

Report on the Depredations Committed by the Thug Gangs of Upper and Central India by William Henry Sleeman is a comprehensive document detailing the operations, structure, and suppression of the Thuggee cult—a network of organized gangs engaged in ritualistic murder and robbery across India. Based on extensive investigations and confessions, Sleeman outlines how the Thugs lured and strangled travelers, motivated by superstition and profit. The report served as a key tool in the British colonial campaign to dismantle the Thuggee networks. It combines criminology, ethnography, and law enforcement strategy, reflecting the British rationale for imperial intervention in Indian society.