Thug Behram—often called the “King of the Thugs”—emerged from the shadows of late 18th-century Awadh (modern-day central India). Little is known of his early days, but colonial records place his origins around 1765. By the 1830s, Behram had risen to the top of the notorious Thuggee cult, a secretive band infamous for highway robbery and ritualistic strangulation.

Behram's weapon of choice—his rumāl—was no ordinary scarf. It was a ceremonial fold of cloth, often with a heavy medallion sewn in. He had mastered a method where he’d fling it at a victim, positioning the medallion at the Adam’s apple, then tighten to strangle.

British colonial officials, notably James Paton of the Thuggee and Dacoity Office, documented Behram's own admissions: he had "been present" at around 931 murders, had "strangled with [his] own hands about 125 men," and witnessed as many as 150 more killings.

This calculated violence continued throughout his long career, from roughly 1790 to 1840, terrorizing travelers across central India. His crimes weren't random—based on meticulous ritual, strategic deception, and brutal execution.

By the 1830s, British efforts to dismantle Thuggee escalated under officers like William Henry Sleeman, who led the suppression with intelligence gathering and mass trials. Their campaign eventually toppled leaders like Behram. According to Sleeman's reports, Behram was captured, convicted, and hanged in 1840.