All those people who helped the British in the Lahore conspiracy case -in which Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged on March 23, 1931 -later benefited in monetary and other ways. Punjab IAS officer RK Kaushik digs deeps into records in India and Pakistan to reveal this story for the first time, exclusively for Hindustan Times.

THE FRIEND EXPECTED A POLICE RAID DURING THE QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT AND BURNT ALL THE PAPERS IN PANIC. SO, THOSE ARTICLES, WRITTEN BY BHAGAT SINGH ON THE LAST DAY OF HIS LIFE, WERE LOST FOREVER

Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were executed in the Lahore conspiracy case, on March 23, 1931.

The trio's four companions -Hans Raj Vohra, Jai Gopal, Phonindra Nath Ghosh and Manmohan Bannerji -had become government approvers and gave statements against them in the case. They were among the 457 witnesses produced by the Punjab Police in this case. After the executions, all four were rewarded. Vohra refused to take monetary benefits. But he was sponsored by the Punjab government and got to study in the prestigious London School of Economics.

After a masters in political science, Vohra got a degree in journalism from London University and was the correspondent of the Civil and Military Gazette of Lahore till 1948.

He later shifted to Washington and in the fifties and sixties was the Washington correspondent of a leading Indian daily. He died in the mid90s in the US.

Jai Gopal got an award of Rs 20,000. Phonindra Nath Ghosh and Manmohan Bannerji got 50 acres of land each in Champaran district of Bihar (their home district)

in lieu of their services and loyalty to the British government.

The then jail superintendent, Major PD Chopra, was romoted as DIG, prisons, Punjab, two days after the angings. Deputy jail superinendent, Khan Sahib Mohammad Akbar Khan, who ad started weeping after the xecution of Bhagat Singh and is two companions, was susended but later taken back as ssistant jail superintendent.

His title of `Khan Sahib' was, owever, withdrawn on March 7, 1931.

The IG, prisons, Punjab, Lt Col FA Barker, was honoured with the Knighthood of Sir.

The investigating officer of he Lahore conspiracy case, Khan Bahadur Sheikh Abdul Aziz, SP, was given an out-ofurn promotion as selection rade SP, leading to his promotion as DIG three years later. His was the only example in 200 years of British rule when a person who had joined as constable retired as DIG (in July 1937).

Khan Bahadur Abdul Aziz's eldest son Masood Aziz was appointed as deputy superintendent of police by nomination in November 1931 in the Punjab Police. Khan Bahadur was also given 50 acres of land in Lyallpur.

Sudarshan Singh, DSP, who disposed the bodies of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, was promoted as additional superintendent of police, Kasur.
He later retired as SP of Punjab Police in September 1942.

Rai Sahib Pandit Sri Krishan, PCS, a Kashmiri from Lahore was SDM, Kasur at the time of the executions. He was trial magistrate in this case earlier. He was given an `appreciation letter' by the governor.

Batala-born Sheikh Abdul Hamid, PCS, additional district magistrate of Lahore and Attock-born Rai Sahib Lala Nathu Ram, PCS, city magistrate, Lahore were also given `appreciation in person' by governor AA Lane Robert. GT Hamilton Hardinge, SSP Lahore; Amar Singh, DSP; and JR Morris, DSP were rewarded with the Kings Police Medal.
Sub-inspector Akbar Khan posted in central jail and others were given appreciation letters.

The four articles written by Bhagat Singh smuggled out of jail on the day of his execution by advocate Pran Nath Mehta were later handed over to Bhagat Singh's companion Bijoy Kumar Sinha, who was sentenced to transportation for life and had concealed these papers at a friend's house in Jalandhar.

The friend expected a police raid during the Quit India Movement days in July 1942 and burnt all of them in panic.

So, those four bunches of papers, written by Bhagat Singh and handed over secretly on the last day of his life and read by Pran Nath Mehta and Bijoy Kumar Sinha, were lost forever.

Bijoy died in Patna on July 16, 1992. He disclosed in a seminar in the late eighties that Bhagat Singh on the last day of his life had predicted that the Britishers would leave India in 14-15 years. Prophetic words!

ravinderkaushik62@yahoo.com The writer is a Punjab IAS officer. This article is based on information gleaned from hitherto inaccessible records in India and Pakistan.

Hindustan Times: October 8, 2011