The Deceivers (Masters novel)

The main character, William Savage, is an official of the East India Company and tax collector (or, as he would rather view himself, colonial administrator) of the fictional district of "Madhia".

He is deeply committed to his duties, which he considers to lie with the people of his district, rather than tax extraction for the East India Company.

In the course of the story, he discovers a mass grave, filled with the remains of travellers, all of whom were evidently strangled to death in ritualistic fashion, among them a recently killed British officer.

His character is loosely based on William Sleeman, who historically started an extensive campaign involving profiling, intelligence, and executions.

[5] It was adapted in 1988 as the Merchant Ivory Productions film starring Shashi Kapoor, Pierce Brosnan, Bijaya Jena, Saeed Jaffrey, Rajesh Vivek, and Dalip Tahil.