Lets Kill Gandhi

by Gandhi, Tushar A.

  Next, the fourth accused in the Gandhi murder trial, Madanlal Kashmirilal Pahwa, read out his written statement. 'I accept that on 20 January 1948, when Gandhiji was conducting his evening prayer meeting at Birla House, I exploded a bomb made of gun cotton explosive.'

  Madanlal read out his twenty-one-page statement in court. He said he had taken every precaution to ensure that Gandhi would not be injured in any manner due to the explosion. He said Badge had given him the hand grenade and the gun cotton bomb. Madanlal said he thought it was a good way to make him hear the pleas of the harassed refugees. 'I wanted to ensure that I would receive all the kudos for the action. I believed that my action was akin to that of a satyagraha.

  'On 12 January when I was in Delhi I heard that Gandhiji was going on a fast unto death, to force the authorities to rehabilitate Muslims in Delhi. I was very saddened by this news. On the night of 24 January I learnt that the Government of India was forced to pay Pakistan Rs. 55 crores, because of the force exerted on them by Gandhiji's fast. It was during this period that my father wrote to me to immediately reach Jallundhar to finalise plans for my marriage. But forced by the unfolding events, I decided to first go to Delhi and only then to Jallundhar. In New Delhi, I felt that since Mahatma Gandhi was always surrounded by Muslims, he was unable to hear the cries of the refugees. So I became determined, in any manner possible, to make him hear the refugees and display our displeasure against his fast.

  'I was a resident of the Pakpattan tehsil of Montgomery district, now in Pakistan. For some time I worked as a wireless operator. I had to leave my birthplace after the division of our motherland. I somehow managed to reach Delhi.' He then talked about his early business ventures of selling fruit and later, Prof. Jain's books.

  'The testimony of Badge, the approver, claiming that I was supposed to attack Gandhiji with a hand grenade after exploding the gun cotton bomb is a white lie. It has been shown that after lighting the fuse of the gun cotton bomb there was a lapse of one and a half minutes till the bomb exploded. If Badge's testimony is to be believed, that I was supposed to attack Mahatma Gandhi after the explosion, I had ample time to reach a spot near Gandhiji, so as to be able to attack him. It is clear for the court to see that I did nothing of that sort. This itself demolishes the prosecution's allegation that I am involved in the conspiracy to murder Mahatma Gandhi.'

  At the end of his statement he said, 'There was no conspiracy to murder Mahatma Gandhi. Even if there was one, I was in no manner involved in it.'

  MADANLAL QUESTIONED

  After he finished reading out his statement the judge questioned Madanlal.

  Question: 'Testimony has been heard about your introduction to Dr. J.C. Jain in October 1947. It was decided in the presence of Angad Singh that you would sell his books for a twenty-five percent commission. You received correspondence at Dr. Jain's address too. Two letters thus received were forwarded to you at your Ahmednagar address.'

  Answer: 'This is correct.'

  Question: 'In the first week of January, you took Karkare to meet Dr. Jain and introduced him as "Seth". Two or three days later you had a long chat with Dr. Jain, during parts of which Angad Singh was also present. Jain has referred to your exploits, your meeting with Savarkar and the conspiracy to murder Mahatma Gandhi in his testimony. What do you have to say to this?'

  Answer: 'These are lies and falsehoods.'

  17 November 1948: Madanlal's questioning continued.

  Question: 'It has been substantiated that two days later you met Dr. J.C. Jain. He had asked you then if you had considered his advice. You had replied that you could not do anything without consulting Karkare and that you treated Karkare as a father figure. A day or two later you again met Dr. Jain and told him that you were going to Delhi.'

  Answer: 'These are absolute lies.'

  Replying to another question, Madanlal refuted the allegation that on 9 January, he along with Karkare and others had gone to Badge's shop in Poona, where after Shankar had showed him some explosives, he had said, 'I can use these'. He said, 'I was not in Poona on that day, I was actually in Khadra, a village on the border of Hyderabad state. I had spoken to some Congress workers there and suggested that we should blow up the four bridges which were being used by the Razakars to attack border villages in the Indian Union.'

  Question: 'On 15 January 1948 while you were at the Hindu Mahasabha Bhavan in Dadar, Badge, Apte, Godse, Karkare and Shankar met you. All of you, except Shankar, got into the taxi brought by Apte. You even put your bedding in the taxi. Then all of you went to Dixit Maharaj's home. You kept your bedding in the hall and then all of you entered the inner room in the house. Is this correct?'

  Answer: 'These are lies. Actually I met Nathuram Godse, Apte and Shankar for the first time in the CID office in Bombay on 14 February 1948, or so. I had met them there with the police.'

  Question: 'A bag was brought out at Dixit Maharaj's home, which contained two pieces of gun cotton explosive, five hand grenades and some accessories. Dixit Maharaj and Badge demonstrated. Then Badge gave the bag to Apte and he handed it over to Karkare. Karkare then gave the bag to you and asked you to tie it up inside your bedding. Then Karkare and you went out of the room.'

  Answer: 'These are lies. I had gone to Dixit Maharaj's home in 1947 along with Dr. Jain. He gave me some clothes for the refugees. I again went to him, twice or thrice, in November 1947.I did not visit Dixit Maharaj in January 1948.'

  Replying to a question the accused said, 'I reached Delhi with Karkare on 17 January. I don't remember if Shantaram A. Amchekar was travelling in our compartment. I had seen a man with Karkare at the tonga stand, at Delhi station; Karkare introduced him to me.'

  Question: 'Karkare, Amchekar and you travelled by a tonga and first went to Hindu Mahasabha Bhavan then on to Birla Mandir and finally reached Sharif Hindu Hotel.'

  Answers: 'All these allegations are a bunch of lies. We had directly gone to the Sharif Hotel. On 16 January one of my relatives came to meet me at the hotel. I am not aware that Amchekar was taken to the Transfer Bureau by him. I saw Gopal Godse for the first time at the office of the CID in Bombay. I had told Amchekar that I was going to stay at my relative's place in connection with my impending engagement.' The accused accepted having stayed at the Sharif Hotel from 17th to 19th January and having written in English in the hotel registers. He said, 'Later I had stayed with the family of my proposed bride.'

  Question: 'On 20 January you along with Gopal Godse, Nathuram Godse, Apte, Shankar and Badge were present in Room 40 of the Marina Hotel. Gopal Godse repaired a revolver. You, Apte and Karkare went into the bathroom and prepared the gun cotton explosives for use. At this time Nathuram Godse said, "Badge, this will be our last attempt, the work must get done". After this, weapons, bombs and explosives were distributed. It was also decided that Nathuram Godse and Apte would signal the others and you would set fire to the fuse of the gun cotton bomb. Taking advantage of the chaos and stampede as a result of the bomb explosion, the others would attack Gandhiji with hand grenades and fire at him.'

  Answer: 'This is brilliant fiction, a pack of lies. Two days after breaking his fast, on 20 January, I came to know that Gandhiji would attend the prayer meeting that evening. I met Badge at the refugee camp; he told me that he had come to Delhi to sell weapons and explosives to the refugees. He gave me a gun cotton slab and a hand grenade as a sample. I though that I must explode the gun cotton slab at a safe distance from Gandhiji, so that he did not receive any injuries and get myself arrested in this manner.'

  The accused claimed that he had travelled to Birla House not from Marina Hotel but from the Sabzi Mandi area. 'I was carrying a gun cotton bomb and a hand grenade on my person. When I was arrested I was not wearing the coat which is part of the authenticated evidence. None of the accused was with me at that time.'

  Question: 'After your arrest, you were taken to the police camp outside Birla House. You were searched and a hand grenade was found in the inside pocket of the coat you were we
aring. Is this correct?'

  Answer: 'This is right. Actually I had informed the police that I was carrying an unused hand grenade. After my arrest I asked the police to take me to meet Mahatma Gandhi. But they took me to the Parliament Street Police Station. The police questioned me there, and beat me up mercilessly. I told the police that I had got the explosives from Badge who was staying in the refugee camp. His accomplices were staying in Marina Hotel. The police took me there, but those people had vanished from there. I was then brought back to the Parliament Street Police Station. I left for Delhi on 15 January 1948. Then I only knew Karkare, I did not know any one from among Nathuram Godse, Apte, Badge, Shankar Kistayya and Savarkar.

  'I do not wish to say anything against those witnesses who identified me during the identity parade. But I will definitely say that I was kept on the second floor of the CID Office in Bombay, and that place was open to the general public. Thus many people had come and seen me.'

  On being questioned further, Madanlal said, 'I was kept in the Civil Lines Police Station from 20 February till 3 March 1948. During this period an inspector visited me very often with papers and alleged that I had conspired to murder Mahatma Gandhi in collaboration with the Sanghis, members of the RSS, of Jallundhar and Amritsar.

  'On 4 February 1947 (this should be 1948) I saw Badge in the office of the CID police in Bombay. I immediately had told the police that this person had given me the gun cotton explosive and the hand grenade in Delhi. The police told me that I was involved in the murder conspiracy along with Nathuram Godse, Apte and Savarkar, but I denied the allegation. Then the policemen threatened me "If you don't accept the existence of a conspiracy and your involvement in it, we will stuff your mouth with beef". This was horrifying; it would have polluted my religion and condemned me to hell for eternity. I broke down and agreed to make a confession in the presence of a magistrate.

  'I do not wish to say anything more against the allegations of the prosecution or in defence of my innocence.'

  18 November 1948: Judge Atmacharan began questioning the fifth accused, Shankar Kistayya, to ascertain his involvement in the conspiracy.

  Shankar was unlettered so, unlike the first four accused, he had not prepared any written statement to accept or refute the charges levelled against him by the prosecution or to accept or dispute the testimonies of witnesses. He could only speak Telugu and bits of broken Marathi and therefore a translator was used.

  Shankar informed the court, 'I am about twenty-years-old. I am a domestic servant and a resident of Sholapur.'

  Before his questioning began, responding to a plea by Bannerjee the court ordered the removal of approver Badge, Shankar's employer, and the jail authorities from the courtroom.

  Shankar said, 'I was employed by Badge in 1946, I have worked as his servant ever since. Initially I used to carry weapons and explosives from Badge's home to Bombay, on many occasions. I used to also wash his clothes. In addition I used to look after his arms shop and take care of odd jobs and run errands for him. From July to December 1947, Badge supplied a lot of weapons, bombs and explosives to Apte and Karkare. They used to come to Badge's home to pick up the "stuff", many times. At about 8.30 pm on 9 January 1948, Karkare, Madanlal and two others came to Badge's shop. I brought out two bags and gave them to Badge, and then I went into another room. After that I don't know what transpired.

  The weapons, bombs and explosives were stored in the backyard, hidden under a mound of bricks and stones. Of the two bags I gave to Badge, one was of jute and the other was of khaki cloth. Both were tied together. The bags were never opened in my presence. Badge had ordered me that whenever he asked for them I should bring them out. On 13th January, Badge asked me to pack some weapons, bombs and explosives in a bag. The next day Badge and I left for Bombay; we reached Dadar the same day at 7.15 in the evening. We both sat in different bogies in the train. He had ordered me to get down at Dadar and meet him outside the station. When I asked him why we were travelling to Dadar, he told me that we were going to Bombay to deliver weapons, bombs and explosives to Apte and Nathuram Godse.

  'Badge and I went to the Hindu Mahasabha office at Dadar. We waited there for almost fifteen minutes. When we started climbing down the stairs, we saw Apte. At that time I saw Nathuram was standing about ten paces away. They asked me to stay at the office, and all of them left. At 10.30 they all came back in a car and we went to Dixit Maharaj's home. Badge ordered me to take the bag out. The three of them went into the house. When they came out they were not carrying the bag. Badge and I returned to the Hindu Mahasabha office.

  'On 15 January, Nathuram Godse, Apte and Badge went and met Karkare at the Shivaji Printing Press. I too had gone. Badge and I left for Poona that very night. On the 16th Nathuram Godse came to Badge's house twice, looking for him, but both times Badge was not at home. I told Badge about Nathuram's visit when he returned home. At 2.30 am on 17 January, Badge and I left for Bombay. Badge gave me one pistol and four bullets to take to Bombay. That day Badge, Apte, Nathuram Godse and I went to Shivaji Park in a taxi. I did not know whose home it was. (According to the prosecution this wasSavarkar's home.) Leaving me sitting in the taxi the others got out. I do not remember the number of the taxi, but the driver who testified in this court was the one who drove us around that day.

  'I don't know what they talked about amongst themselves, after coming out. They used to speak in Marathi and English. I reached Boribunder Station on 18 January, along with Badge. He purchased two tickets and we reached Delhi the next day at 9.30 in the evening and proceeded to the Hindu Mahasabha Bhavan. We were shown a room to stay in. A light was burning in the room which was occupied by three people. One of the persons had a beard similar to Badge's; he was sleeping. The other two were Madanlal and Gopal Godse. Both of them were sitting on their beds and chatting. Badge had introduced them to me. About twenty minutes later Nathuram Godse, Apte and Karkare came there. They took Badge outside and talked to him. What they talked about, I don't know.

  'Next day, early in the morning, Badge asked me to wash his clothes. Apte and Karkare came back. Karkare told me that he had given some money to Madanlal to buy firewood. Then Karkare and Apte left, but returned after a while. Badge, Apte and I went to Birla House, while Karkare stayed back.

  'We were stopped at the gate of Birla House by a policeman. He asked us who we wished to meet. Apte wrote something on a chit and gave it to him. Two persons were going into Birla House at that time. Apte pointed to one of them and said something to Badge, but I did not understand. We went to the rear of Birla House, and entered the prayer meeting place. Apte took out a string from his pocket, he measured some things and spoke to Badge. I asked him what they were talking about, but Badge said it did not matter. Then we went back to the Hindu Mahasabha Bhavan.'

  Shankar then went to describe the events that took place in the forest behind the Hindu Mahasabha Bhavan. 'Back at the Bhavan, Karkare asked Madanlal to remove the bag from his bedding. Madanlal took out the bag and left with Karkare. Gopal took out a white bag; Apte, Godse, Badge and I went to Marina Hotel, at which time Gopal was carrying the white bag.'

  19 November 1948: Kistayya's questionning continued. 'It is correct that Gopal Godse, Apte, Badge and I went from the Hindu Mahasabha Bhavan to Marina Hotel. Gopal Godse repaired his revolver there. They spoke amongst themselves for a while. Karkare dyed his moustache and eyebrows and painted a large tilak on his forehead.' Kistayya then narrated how they went to Birla House. He saw Madanlal being arrested and then both Badge and he slipped out and went back to the Hindu Mahasabha Bhavan. He added, 'Badge appeared to be verys cared then. On his orders I buried the hand grenades under stones and bricks behind the bhavan and disposed the rest of the stuff, but kept the bag. When I was returning I saw Apte and Nathuram Godse leaving and I asked Badge what the matter was. He was very angry and slapped me hard. We went to the station where Badge bought two tickets for Bombay. From there I went to Sholapur and on returning to Poona I learnt that Badge had be
en arrested. I went to Dixit Maharaj's home in Bombay and met his domestic servant. He took me to the office of the Bombay CID. There Nagarvala gave me a hard slap and asked, "What have you done?" I told him everything.

  'I don't wish to say anything about the identification parade. I was Badge's servant. That is why I went with them to Delhi. I know nothing about the conspiracy. I do not wish to produce any witnesses to refute the claims of the prosecution or to support my statement.'

  In his statement the sixth accused, Gopal Vinayak Godse, denied in strong words that Gandhi's murder was the result of a plot or conspiracy.

  He read out his fifteen-page statement. 'Between 1 December 1947 and 30 January 1948 I did not enter into any plot or conspiracy, at any place or at any time, to commit any illegal act such as the murder of Mahatma Gandhi.' He denied that between 10 and 20 January 1948, in accordance with a plot or conspiracy, he arranged to send any illegal or other kind of weapon, bomb or explosive to Delhi and did not possess any explosive stuff or any lethal weapon. He also denied being in Poona, Bombay or Delhi between 17 and 25 January. Gopal added, 'Contrary to what has been claimed by the prosecution, I was not arrested on 5 February from Uksan. Under the pretext of protecting me, the police took me to Bombay and told that I was being arrested for my involvement in the murder of Mahatma Gandhi.' In support of his claim of having been at some other place at the time of the tragedy, he said he had never participated in any of the political actions of his brother Nathuram or harboured ill-will or hatred against any religious group or persons, including Gandhi. He said he was a devoted servant of the government. 'On the day of the bomb explosion I was in my ancestral village Uksan and on the day of Gandhiji's murder I was working in my office at the Military Ordinance Depot in Kirkee.'

  He rubbished the testimony of the handwriting expert, Gajjar, and said that the witnesses who had identified him had been allowed to take a 'good look' at him before the identification parade was conducted. 'The police had taken my photographs in Bombay. On the first day of the trial, press and cameramen had taken my photographs. Everyone recognised me due to the photographs published in the newspapers and the film of the trial shown in the cinemas.