DACOIT

dacoit, a term used in india for a robber belonging to an armed gang. the word is derived from the hindustani _dakait_, and being current in bengal got into the indian penal code. by law, to constitute _dacoity_, there must be five or more in the gang committing the crime. in the time of the thugs (q.v.) a special police department was created in india to deal with thuggy and dacoity (_thagi_ and _dakaiti_), which exists down to the present day. in burma also the word dacoit came to be applied in a special sense to the armed gangs, which maintained a state of guerilla warfare for several years after the defeat of the king and his army. (see burmese wars.)