Thuggee

Acolytes of Thuggee were a cult of robbers and murderers in 19th-century India who were offering their victims to Kali, the Hindu goddess of death and destruction. They had a habit of first tricking and then strangling their victims with a garrotte. (COMIC: The Swords of Kali)

Behind the scene

 * The word "thug" goes back to Thuggee of India.
 * Despite Titan Comics replacing the Hindu goddess Kali with an invented character Okti in later editions, it was Kali that Thuggee worshiped in the real world.