The next witness was Satyavan Bhilaji Rale, the manager of the Sea Green Hotel, at Marine Drive. He provided the court with all the details about the accused who had checked into the hotel under the names Narayanrao D. and V. Krushnaji. Rale then identified Apte. He wasn't questioned by the defence lawyers.
3 August 1948: Glamour was added to the trial when actress Shanta Bhaskar Modak, popularly known as 'Bimba' took the stand. She told the court that, she lived in Poona and had travelled to Bombay on 14th January by the Poona Express on a second class ticket. 'When I got on the train I was looking for a window seat. A gentleman occupying a window seat got up and offered me his seat. When the train started, another man came and occupied the seat next to the one who had given me his window seat. I felt as if both the men knew each other and were travelling together.' She then pointed towards Apte and Godse, and identified them as her fellow travellers. She told the court that after getting off the train at Dadar, she and her brother had given the two a lift till Savarkar Sadan. She said that since her brother lived just a short distance away it was convenient for them to drop the two accused. She said she had gone to the police station to record her statement on 12 February 1948. While she was in Poona the police had taken her to Bombay to identify the accused.
The next witness was Kashmiri Lai, partner of the Elphinstone Hotel of Bombay. His statement was very crucial. The details of the events of that day have been narrated in an earlier chapter. Narasinh Bhagji, owner of Bombay Laundry, the next witness to testify, immediately recognised Nathuram and also identified his clothes which bore the laundry mark 'NVG'. The next two witnesses, Gayaprasad Dube, manager of the Aryapathik Ashram, Bombay, and Govind Vishwanath Malekar, a servant working in the Elphinstone Annexe Hotel, also identified the accused. The former said he had known Apte for the past year and a half as he used to stay regularly at his hotel, sometimes accompanied by his lady friend. Malekar too, effortlessly identified both Apte and Karkare.
5 August 1948: Candido Pinto, a clerk working for Apollo Hotel, Bombay, was the first to take the witness stand. His testimony against Apte and Karkare was crucial. He testified that the two had checked into the hotel under the assumed names of 'R. Vishnu' and 'N. Kashinath'. He confirmed that both of them were arrested from the hotel.
THE TESTIMONY OF PROF. JAGDISH CHANDRA JAIN
After a break for refreshments, Prof. Jagdish Chandra Jain, a resident of Shivaji Park, Bombay and a professor at Ramnarayan Ruia College, Bombay, took the stand. He spoke about his association with Madanlal Kashmirilal Pahwa, whom he had known since October 1947 and had tried, on several occasions, to get him a job. He told the court that once in the first week of January 1948, Madanlal had come to his home accompanied by a person he called 'Seth'. Madanlal had again come to him saying that he had attacked and disrupted a meeting addressed by the Congressman Raosahab Patwardhan in Ahmednagar on the orders of the 'Seth'. Patwardhan was preaching Hindu-Muslim unity, he said, adding that since the police were sympathetic to the Hindu cause, they did nothing to him, but only confiscated the dagger he was wielding. Jain added, 'Madanlal told me, "We have formed a Hindu commando group in Ahmednagar to protect the Hindus and are collecting arms and explosives for the same. Karkare Seth took me to meet Savarkar, impressed by my exploits he patted me on my back and told me to continue doing good work".' Jain told the court, 'Then Madanlal told me "we have formed a group and our plan is to murder Gandhiji. Our plan is that I will explode a bomb at the evening prayer meeting conducted by Gandhiji to create terror and chaos, taking advantage of this the other members of our group will finish him off". I tried to dissuade Madanlal, I told him not to even think of doing such terrible deeds, but he left promising to come back again. He came back to meet me one last time saying he was leaving for Delhi on an important "mission" and would meet me on his return.'
Jain added that two days later Jayprakash Narayan had come to deliver a lecture at the St. Mary's Hostel. He had thought of reporting all that Madanlal had told him, but due to the crush of the crowd around him, was only able to tell him that there was a plot to murder Gandhi in Delhi. He said that he tried to inform Sardar Patel, but was told that he had left for the airport, and he wasn't able to contact the president of the Bombay provincial Congress, S.K Patil, either. Jain added, 'I met the prime minister of Bombay Province Bal Gangadhar Kher and the Home minister Morarji Desai at 4 pm on the 21st and told them everything I knew about the conspiracy.'
5 August 1948: Jain continued, 'My first interaction with the police was in connection with this conspiracy, when they came to record my statement. Ten days after the police recorded my statement it was again recorded in the presence of a magistrate. I had read in the papers that India was holding back the Rs. 55 crores that it owed to Pakistan and was hesitant to do so because there was a fear that the money would be used to finance the illegal invasion of Kashmir. In 1942,I was arrested for participating in the Quit India movement by the colonial government. I was a Congressman then.'
9 August 1948: Bannerjee continued to cross-examine Jain. The latter said that Madanlal did not inform him about the type and quantity of weapons and explosives they had hidden in the jungles around Ahmednagar. Next, John Freitus, the assistant manager of Fredricks Hotel, Bombay, who had acted as a pancha, police witness was called in. He stated that he had signed the panchanama prepared by the police at the Apollo Hotel, situated on Landsdowne Road in Colaba, Bombay on 14 February 1948, in the presence of the accused Apte and Karkare.
THE TESTIMONY OF MAHANT SHRI KRISHNAJI MAHARAJ
The head priest of the Mata Mandir, Bombay, Mahant Shrikrishna Jivanji Maharaj, also known as Dada Maharaj, was called on next. The witness was from the genetic lineage of the founder of the Vaishnava sect Valabhacharya and had been a Congress member since 1942. He held an A Category' pilot licence which had now expired. He stated that he knew Apte and identified him. He also admitted to having met Savarkar twice, and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose once. He said, 'I had heard that Apte was planning to blow up the Pakistan Constituent Asembly which was to meet in Delhi, so I went to meet him. I was going on a pilgrimage to Pandharpur, so I stopped on the way at Poona and inquired about Apte's address.' Apte told him that there were two mortar launchers available in Goa for Rs. 4,000. 'I told him even if I was not able to fund the purchase of the mortars he should continue with his plans to kill Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan.' Pointing to Nathuram, Dada Maharaj said, 'He had accompanied Apte to my place and later I met him in Poona.'
10 August 1948: Maharaj went on to give the details of all his meetings with Godse and Apte who had demanded that he get them a revolver. 'I had lost faith in them by then, so I refused to help them any more.' Replying to a question by Bhopatkar, Maharaj said, 'On 9 August, a few days before Independence Day, I had gone to Delhi to attend the Hindu Convention presided over by Savarkar. I don't remember if a resolution declaring support to the Nehru government was passed at the convention or not. I had opposed the Nehru government, and will do so in the future till it changes its policies. In his speech at the convention, Savarakar had said that Hindus must forget their age-old differences and come together to defend their motherland against any invasion. Hindus must strengthen the hands of the government. On Janmashtami, in 1947,I had gone to visit Shri Morarji Desai, the Home minister of Bombay province, at his home in Bombay. I promised him that I would not participate in any violent action against Muslims fleeing to Pakistan or any conspiracy to slaughter Muslims who had chosen to remain in India. I did not tell the Home minister that I had asked Apte to kill Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan. Those two had left for Pakistan already. Gandhiji's policies were different from those of the Nehru government. Gandhiji was always opposed to the division of our motherland.
'I have studied the Gita and give discourses. Swadharme nidhana shreya paradharmo bhayavaha is mentioned in Gita. Here swa, para and dharma all have to be properly defined in the context of their usage. Dharma also means worship and duty. Ahimsa means not hurting or causi
ng hardship to anyone by physical actions, oral abuse or even hate-filled thoughts. Satyagraha can also be described as passive resistance. I believe that Harijans must not be allowed to enter temples. I had gone to Noakhali after Diwali of 1946 and performed the purification of over 4,000 persons who had been polluted by being force-fed beef. I performed purification rites and brought them back into the Hindu religion. Many people complained about the atrocities committed by the Suhrawardy government. Hindus were being subjected to a lot of violence, terror and persecution, Hindu dharma was under threat there.'
11 and 12 August 1948: As Kistayya was unwell, the court was adjourned for both days. Advocate N.H. Panchnathan submitted an application requesting to appear as a defence counsel.
13 August 1948: Lorna Bainbridge, an airhostess working for Air India International Services, identified both Nathuram and Apte as having flown on 27 January 1948 under the names B. Narayanrau and N. Vinayakrav. 'I remember them because one of them had constantly kept asking for coffee and refreshments.'
DETAILS OF THE CONSPIRACY WERE KNOWN BEFOREHAND
Ruling on an application submitted by Bhopatkar, regarding the testimony of Angad Singh, a broker from Bombay, the court ordered that it should be recorded under Section 157 of the Indian Evidence Act of 1872. He admitted to knowing Prof. J.C. Jain and Madanlal, having met the latter on 26 October 1947. 'Those days volunteers of the RSS were holding martial demonstrations at Shivaji Park. Prof. Jain said that I should help Madanlal find some work.' He then narrated the events that occurred in Jain's house on 10th or 11th January where Madanlal was also present and where he had bragged about a plot to murder Gandhi. Replying to Bhopatkar, Angad Singh said, 'I have now joined the Socialist party. Three days after the bomb explosion, I informed the socialist leaders, Ashoke Mehta and Harish that a plot had been hatched to murder Mahatma Gandhi. The police recorded my statement during the last week of February.'
16 August 1948: Before Angad Singh's cross-examination began, the court declared that it refused to accept the 'Delhi Diaries' as a recognised original source for reference for the speeches, articles and statements made by Gandhi. The first of the following two witnesses, a retired pensioner of the Imperial Bank of India's Bombay branch, Ganpatrao Bhimrao Afzulpurkar admitted to knowing Badge for the past five years as a collector of funds for the Hindu Mahasabha. The second witness, Charandas Meghji Mathuradas, was a partner in the Bombay Dyeing Mills. He too admitted to knowing Badge as they had come to him for funds.
17 August 1948: As Badge and Kistayya were unwell, the court was adjourned till 20 August.
THE TESTIMONY OF RAGHU MALI, THE MAN WHO CAUGHTNATHURAM GODSE
20 August 1948: Ragunath Naik, a gardener, mali, working at Birla House informed the court that he was present at the prayer ground the day Gandhi was murdered. He told the court about the events preceding and succeeding the shooting. He had been carrying a sickle with which he hit Nathuram on his head. On instructions from Nathuram Godse, the defence counsels did not cross-examine Raghu.
THE TESTIMONY OF DIXIT MAHARAJ
Goswami Dixit Maharaj was the younger brother of Goswami Krushnaji Maharaj, aka 'Dada Maharaj'. He said that he had been doing social work since 1939 and became active in politics from 1942. Towards the end of 1946, he purchased daggers from Badge and distributed them amongst the villagers, living on the borders of Muslim princely states within the Bombay Province, for their protection. He admitted that Apte had visited him on several occasions and they discussed the Hyderabad situation. Dixit Maharaj provided the court with many details as has been narrated in an earlier chapter. His testimony continued the following day also. He said, 'In the last week of January 1948,1 participated in a meeting on the crisis in Jaisalmer, the meeting took place at Mata Mandir. Because of my ill health, I was carried to the meeting in a recliner. Godse (Nathuram) approached me at the meeting and inquired if I had made arrangements to provide them with the requested handguns. I replied in the negative. I had a valid pistol licence in January 1948. Seven days after the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, Dada Maharaj returned from Banaras. I asked him, "Do you know this man Godse who has been arrested for murdering Mahatma Gandhi?" Dada told me about his identity.'
WEAPONS WERE CONCEALED INSIDE A TABLA AND DUGGA
Dixit Maharaj continued, 'During the August Kranti Movement, Socialist leader Achyut Patwardhan had stayed in Mata Mandir for three days, I used to live there myself. I do not agree with some of the policies and beliefs of the Hindu Mahasabha, but I agree with their philosophy of protecting Hindus and their rights.' Dixit Maharaj said that Badge used to bring the daggers concealed in tablas and duggas because the commissioner of police of Bombay had made even the carrying of a stick illegal.
NATHURAM CROSS-EXAMINES THE WITNESS
After Dange was through with Dixit Maharaj, Nathuram requested the court to allow him to ask a few questions. Replying to a question asked by Nathuram, Dixit said, 'I have very close relations with many socialist leaders. I knew that they did not subscribe to the Hindu supremacists' ideology and to the practice of militant Hinduism. But seeing their work in Hyderabad, I had assumed that they were doing this to strengthen the hands of Hindus. I had never liked the idea of the vivisection of my motherland. I do not know if the Socialists' block within the Congress had remained neutral in the debate on the resolution accepting the division of India during the AICC's convention in Bombay.'
23 August 1948: Madanlal's counsel, Bannerjee, submitted an application in court, which said, 'On 21 August, during the crossexamination of Dixit Maharaj, certain statements alluding to my being a member of the Hindu Mahasabha were made. I wanted to make it absolutely clear, neither am I a member of the Hindu Mahasabha, nor was I ever one. I used to ponder over every happening or instance as a refugee only, not as a member of a political party.
'I was deeply hurt by the fact that Gandhiji had forced the Government of India to pay Rs. 55 crores to Pakistan. I felt that Gandhiji could hear the isolated whispers of the Muslims of Delhi. But the ears of the Father of the Nation and the "Dictator" of the Government of India were deaf to the heart wrenching cries of the millions of Hindu refugees. I exploded the bomb on 20 January, only to carry the refugees' cries to the selectively deaf ears of Gandhiji'.
THE TESTIMONY OF HOME MINISTER MORARJI DESAI
Bhopatkar submitted an application objecting to the prosecution calling on Morarji Desai to confirm the testimony of Prof. Jain under Section 157 of the Indian Evidence Act. The application claimed that, since the defence was disputing the validity of Jain's testimony, according to the said Section of the Act, and was challenging its acceptance in the Gandhi murder trial, the defence requested the court not to allow a testimony, which was being heard only to confirm an invalid testimony. The objection was over-ruled. Desai stated, 'I am the Home minister of the Government of Bombay province. I am in charge of the Home and Revenue departments. I accept a monetary compensation for my work. All the departments of criminal investigations come under the purview of the Home ministry. I have only now come to know who Prof. Jagdish Chandra Jain is. I had seen him for the first time on 21 January 1948, at approximately 4 pm when B.G. Kher summoned me to his chambers. Jain narrated the entire tale to me. I immediately summoned Nagarvala who I met at the railway station, before I left for Ahmedabad, that night. I gave him three specific orders: One was to arrest Karkare immediately, the second was to keep a close watch on Savarkar's home and his activities and the third, was to gather maximum information about those who were involved in the conspiracy.' Desai went on to say that Patel was informed about the conspiracy on 22 January.
24 August 1948: Desai continued by saying that he did not reveal the identity of his informant to Nagarvala. 'Three or four days after Gandhiji was murdered Prof. Jain told me that now he did not foresee any danger and was willing to cooperate with the investigation openly. I then introduced him to Nagarvala.' Desai told Bhopatkar that he gave his statement to the police while attending his office in the Assembly B
havan. Replying to a question by Mengle, Desai said, 'I have been a Congressman for the past eighteen years. I know the Congress stalwarts Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Dr. Ambedkar. I had read in the newspapers that Gandhiji had begun a fast from 13 January. I respect Gandhiji and so was very worried about his health and well-being.' Desai added that the government of Bombay province was very concerned about the welfare of the refugees and he could not recollect receiving any specific proposal from Karkare to settle 5,000 refugees in Ahmednagar.' Replying to a question asked by Oak, he replied, 'I have been a member of the AICC since the past seventeen years. In 1942 I had attended both the conventions of the AICC which had taken place in Bombay and Allahabad. I do not recollect if C. Rajagopalachari had placed a proposal granting Muslims the right of self-determination. I remember that due to differences, Rajagopalachari had to quit the Congress. He was in favour of arriving at an understanding with the Muslims politicians, (but) Congress was not prepared to accept this. I was elected to the Provincial Assembly of Bombay from the Surat Rural Hindu Constituency. I believe the Hindu Mahasabha is a communal organisation and so is the Muslim League.' He added that he was present at the AICC convention in 1947 where the partition proposal of 3 June was discussed. There was no general discontent on the partition plan nor was there any joy over its adoption. It was a fait accompli. Desai's cross-examination continued the next day also. He said, 'Many of the socialists did not vote in favour of the partition plan. Mahatma Gandhi was not present at the beginning of the Convention. He arrived later. I think he had supported the plan in his speech. I do not have a recollection of anyone condemning the Union government for having failed to control the riots in Punjab, Calcutta and Noakhali, and thus expressing the apprehension that in the case of the partitioning of India the situation would deteriorate further.'
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