There were many such dacoits in the country whose threats were in the whole country. In all this, one name was that of Sultana Daku, who had destroyed the name of British rule. He described himself as a descendant of Maharana Pratap, the king of Mewar and had also named his own horse as Chetak. It is said that Sultana dacoit never looted the money of the poor, but it was his habit to rob the British and distribute that money among the poor.
Born in Harthala village of Moradabad, Sultana Daku had entered the world of crime at the age of 17. Within a few years, he had created a fear of his name among the officers of the British Government and the landlords. However, for his kindness and courage, people also called him the messiah of the poor. The fear of Sultana dacoits was not limited to Uttar Pradesh only but was also in the areas of Punjab, MP and Rajasthan.
Jim Corbett in his book ‘My India’ in the chapter ‘Sultana: India’s Robin Hood’ has written about Sultana Daku that even though he was a robber, he never robbed a single penny from any poor person. Whenever he was asked for donations for some work, he helped with money, that is why he got the title of Robinhood. About 100 dacoits were involved in Sultana’s gang, many times British officers tried to catch them.
Sultana Daku had made a deserted fort in Najibabad his secret hideout. During that time the British also spent most of their time in Nainital. During this time Sultana dacoit used to target the convoy of British officers. Then he used to hide silently in this deserted fort. During the year 1921, Sultana’s fear was such that a team of 300 British was formed to capture him.
However, Sultana was caught by British police officer Freddy Young with the help of hunters Jim Corbett and Precious Wyndham. British officers started searching for Sultana from the year 1921 and about 2 years later Freddy Young caught him alive from Haridwar. After this the British government ordered him to be hanged and he was hanged on June 8, 1924 in Bareilly Jail.