4 days ago
Bhagat Singh’s Pistol: Origins Unclear, Role in Trial Revealed
A new book looks at a pistol connected to Bhagat Singh, an Indian revolutionary.
He was arrested with it after a bombing at the Central Assembly in 1929.
British police wanted to know whether the same pistol had been used to kill officer J.P. Saunders.
If they could connect it to that killing, they could bring a murder case as well as the bombing case.
Police compared the pistol with bullets and empty cartridge cases.
The article says there are several ideas about how the gun reached Bhagat Singh.
But it does not prove which idea is correct.
So the gun’s origin remains a mystery.
A new book examines the .32 Colt pistol associated with Bhagat Singh and the unresolved question of where it came from.
Accounts cited in the article suggest Chandra Shekhar Azad may have supplied the weapon, but other possible sources and routes are also discussed.
Bhagat Singh was arrested with the pistol after the Central Assembly bombing on April 8, 1929.
Police sought to link that pistol to the killing of British officer J.P. Saunders, potentially expanding the case beyond the bombing.
Police examined cartridge cases and compared marks, but the article does not establish the pistol’s precise origins.
- Who
- Bhagat Singh, British police investigators, and the revolutionaries discussed in the article.
- What
- A new book investigates the origins of the .32 Colt pistol associated with Bhagat Singh and its role in linking him to J.P. Saunders’s killing.
- Where
- The pistol was recovered in Delhi after the Central Assembly bombing; the article also discusses events and investigations in Lahore and elsewhere in India.
- When
- Bhagat Singh was arrested with the pistol on April 8, 1929; police received information about its recovery the next day.
- Why
- Police sought to establish whether the pistol recovered from Bhagat Singh was used in Saunders’s killing, which could broaden the case beyond the Assembly bombing.
Possible pistol origins
Evidence and uncertainty
Who supplied the pistol?
Possible pistol origins
One account suggests Chandra Shekhar Azad supplied weapons to revolutionaries, and he may have provided Bhagat Singh’s pistol.
Evidence and uncertainty
The article says there is no known evidence establishing where the .32 Colt came from; other proposed routes and sources remain unconfirmed.
Was it the weapon used against Saunders?
Possible pistol origins
Police investigators sought to connect the pistol recovered from Bhagat Singh to the Saunders killing through comparisons of cartridge-case marks.
Evidence and uncertainty
The article describes the examination and police effort but does not establish a definitive conclusion about the weapon’s use.
Key facts
- Book
- Bhagat Singh’s Pistol: The Hunt for a Martyr’s Legacy by Jupinderjit Singh
- Pistol described
- .32 Colt, identified in testimony as an automatic pistol
- Recovery
- Bhagat Singh was arrested with the pistol on April 8, 1929, after the Central Assembly bombing
- Police action
- Investigators compared the pistol and cartridge cases with material recovered in the Saunders murder investigation
- Pistol number
- 168896, according to the testimony quoted in the article
- Origin
- Unresolved; the article presents several claims and possible routes
- Assembly bombing
- Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt bombed the Central Assembly; the article says no one was hurt
Quotes
Chandra Shekhar Azad
Indian revolutionary, quoted in an anecdote about handling a pistol.
“The authorities have reliable information to show that 44 of these pistols were almost at once distributed to 9 different revolutionary groups in Bengal, and it is certain that the pistols so distributed were used in 54 cases of dacoity or murder or attempts at dacoity and murder subsequent to August 1914.”
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“Be on your guard, I am going to shoot you.”
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WNP Jenkins
Superintendent of police, CID Punjab, who testified about examining cartridge cases and bullets.
“It was possible to determine from an empty case or a bullet which specific weapon had been used.”
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Sources
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