What happened to Traitors of Lahore Conspiracy Case?

Sardar Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivram Rajguru

The execution of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev was carried out on March 23, 1931, in Lahore Central Jail by the executor Kala Masih of Shahdara, Lahore and supervised by District Magistrate, AA Lane Robert. The IG prisons (Punjab) Lt Col F.A Barker, the IG Punjab Police  Cherris Stead were also present. After the execution, the British government honored several individuals for their loyalty to the Crown.

Hans Raj Vohra, Jai Gopal, Phonindra Nath Ghosh and Manmohan Bannerji — had all become government approvers and gave statements in the case. They were among the 457 witnesses produced by the Punjab Police in this case. After the executions, all four were rewarded. 

Hansraj Vohra

Hans Raj Vohra (1909 – 13 September 1985) was a trusted colleague and follower of the leading revolutionaries Sukhdev Thapar and Bhagat Singh. He was a student at Forman Christian College, a member of the Lahore Student's Union, and key member of the outlawed Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA) in Punjab during the 1920s. 

Vohra was arrested and kept in police custody for 17 days following the murder of John Saunders, the Assistant Superintendent on 17 December 1928. He was tricked by the British Indian Police in believing that that his colleague Sukhdev had confessed of his crime. Vohra decided to become an informer and gave his testimonial in favor of British raj. He identified his associates in return for his own freedom. In May 1930, his statement against Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru, in the Lahore Conspiracy Case trial, became "crucial" in leading to passing of their death sentence.

Following the trial and the request to the British government by his father, Vohra was sponsored by the Punjab government to study at the London School of Economics. He returned to Lahore in 1936 after he gained a degree in journalism from the London University. He was appointed Assistant Information Officer in the Bureau of Public Information in 1942 and was the correspondent of the Civil and Military Gazette of Lahore until 1948. In 1958, he migrated to Washington, USA to become the correspondent for The Times of India writing journalistic article under the name of "Hans R. Vohra". His interview with Dean Rusk, the then United States Secretary of State, was published in the Department of State Bulletin.

He spent the last few years of life in social isolation. In 1981, before he died, he addressed a letter to Sukhdev's brother, explaining why he testified and expressed the wish to be forgotten:

"Mine has been a most difficult life, full of risks, but so far touch wood, I have emerged virtually unscathed, at least physically. But the memory of the twenties accompanies me doggedly, teasingly and hauntingly…. I hope by the time I die; I would have been fully forgotten, this is my only ambition."

He died on 13 September 1985 in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He was married and had three children and by them had six grandchildren.

The Others

Accused in Lahore Conspiracy Trial

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. 

Phonindra Nath Ghosh was a key leader of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) who had treacherously betrayed the cause by turning an approver. He revealed every secret of the HSRA. His damning testimony leads to multiple arrests, and then the British hang Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdeo. Popularly known as the ‘king’s witness’, he had singlehandedly brought on an armed revolution. Gosh had settled in his native Bihar with the help of British Raj. His hiding place was discovered by HSRA in Bettiah, Chamaparan district of Bihar. Baikunth Shukul, an unassuming teacher and devoted admirer of Bhagat Singh avenged the treachery by murdering Phonindra Nath Ghosh. Baikunth Shukla, along with his uncle Yogendra Shukla were convicted and hanged in Gaya Central Jail on 14 May 1934.

The then jail superintendent, Major PD Chopra, was promoted as DIG, prisons, Punjab, two days after the hangings. The Deputy Jail Superintendent, Khan Sahib Mohammad Akbar Khan, who had started weeping after the execution of Bhagat Singh and his two companions, was suspended and demoted.

The DIG Prisons Punjab, Lt. Col. NR Puri, was promoted as IG Prisons Punjab after a few days of the execution. The Investigating Officer of the Lahore conspiracy case, Khan Bahadur Sheikh Abdul Aziz was given an out-of-turn promotion as superintendent of Police, and given 50 acres of land in Lyallpur. 

Cremation of Martyrs by Public after British Police Fled

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  1942. Amar Singh, DSP; and JR Morris, DSP who had accompanied DSP Sudharshan Singh for the cremation of the three martyrs, were given the King’s Police Medal. 

Rai Sahib Pandit Sri Krishan, PCS, a Kashmiri from Lahore was the trial magistrate in this case, was given an “appreciation letter” by the Governor and promoted as ADM, out of turn. The other two magistrtaes - Sheikh Abdul Hamid, Additional District Magistrate of Lahore and Rai Sahib Lala Nathu Ram, City Magistrate, Lahore were also given appreciation in person by the Governor of Punjab and promoted. Sir Shadi Lal, the Chief justice of Punjab High Court was given the title of 'Sir' and given land to set up a sugar mill in Muzaffarnagar, UP.

The executioner Kala Masih was also rewarded, and his family were appointed as the life-long executioners of Lahore prison. His son Tara Masih later hanged Pakistan's Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on November 4, 1979. 

Bhagat Singh with Counsel in Police Custody

The traitors are always present whenever we remember the legendary freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh. The travesty of justice in the trial and execution of Bhagat Singh and his companions exploded the myth that the British had introduced a rule of law in colonial India. The conduct of Bhagat Singh and his companions during the trial demonstrated their intellect and bravery in the way they denounced the colonial law and the politics of British imperial rule.

References

After hanging, rewards : The Tribune India 

Politics Of Bhagat Singh’s Trial| Countercurrents

The Pakistani hangman and his family tradition - BBC News