On December 23, 1912 to mark the entry of the Governor-General of India into the new Capital, an imperial procession was taken out in Delhi, with Lord Hardinge seated on a caparisoned elephant. When the procession was passing through Chandni Chowk, a bomb was thrown on the elephant, killing the mahawat. Lord Hardinge escaped with injuries.
Many persons throughout the country, including Master Amir Chand, a school teacher of Delhi, Bhai Balmukund, Master Awadh Behari, Basant Kumar Biswas, Ganeshilal Khasta, Vishnu Ganesh Pingley, Charan Das, Balraj, Lachmi Narain Sharma and Lala Hanwant Sahey, among many others, were arrested. Sharma and Khasta were taken to Varanasi and sentenced to life imprisonment. Pingley was taken to Lahore and was hanged.
The case against the accused started in the Session Judge’s Court and lasted for about a year. Master Amir Chand, Bhai Balmukund and Master Awadh Behari were sentenced to death and Basant Kumar Biswas, Lala Hanwant Sahey and many other were sentenced to life imprisonment and long prison terms. On appeal by the Government in the High Court the sentence of Basant Kumar Biswas was enhanced to death. Appeal was made in the Privy Council with no result.
Master Amir Chand, Bhai Balmukund and Master Awadh Behari were executed on May 8, 1915 in Delhi Jail and Basant Kumar Biswas was executed the next day on May 9, 1915 in Ambala Central Jail.
In memory of these martyrs, a modest memorial has been raised at the site of “Phansi Ghar” of the Old Delhi, Jail, now in the complex of Maulana Azad Medical College, where homage is paid every year to these sons of Delhi.
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