law: Sale of Goods Act, 1930
  17. Preventive action to be taken by the law and order machinery
  
  
  (1) A District Magistrate or a Sub-divisional Magistrate or any
  
  other Executive Magistrate or any police officer not below the rank of a Deputy
  
  Superintendent of Police may, on receiving information and after such inquiry
  
  as he may think necessary, has reason to believe that a person or a group of
  
  persons not belonging to the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes, residing
  
  in or frequenting any place within the local limits of his jurisdiction is
  
  likely to commit an offence or has threatened to commit any offence under this
  
  Act and is of the opinion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding,
  
  declare such an area to be an area prone to atrocities and take necessary
  
  action for keeping the peace and good behavior and maintenance of public order and
  
  tranquility and may take preventive action.
  (2) The provisions of Chapters VIII, X and XI of the Code shall,
  
  so far as may be, apply for the purposes of sub-section (1).
  (3) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
  
  make one or more schemes specifying the manner in which the officers referred
  
  to in sub-section (1) shall take appropriate action specified in such scheme or
  
  schemes to prevent atrocities and to restore the feeling of security amongst
  
  the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.