Pak displays Bhagat Singh’s case file for the first time
LAHORE: Eighty-seven years after Bhagat Singh was hanged for the murder of a British police officer, Pakistan on Monday for the first time displayed some records of the legendary freedom fighter’s case file, including his execution certificate.
Bhagat Singh was hanged by the British on March 23, 1931 in Lahore, after being tried under charges for hatching a conspiracy against the colonial government. The case was filed against him, Sukhdev and Rajguru for allegedly killing British police officer John P Saunders.
The Pakistan Punjab archives department could not display the whole record of the case file of as it was not reportedly fully prepared. “Today, we exhibited some record of the case file of Bhagat Singh (at the tomb of Anarkali, Lahore). We will display more record, probably all files, related to this case on Tuesday,” an official of the department told PTI.
The record which was put on display included request of Bhagat Singh for providing order of court dated August 27, 1930, his petition dated May 31, 1929, for interview of his father, petition of his father Kishan Singh against Bhagat Singh’s death sentence and the certificate/execution of death in Lahore district jail dated March 23, 1931.
It also included a martyr’s petition for allowing him daily newspapers and books. Some other record related to manifesto of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha Lahore by BC Vohra and several clippings of the daily Virbharat.
One document about the execution of death sentence of Bhagat Singh says: “I (superintendent of the jail) hereby certify that the sentence of death passed on Bhagat Singh has been duly executed and that the said Bhagat Singh was accordingly hanged by neck till he was dead at Lahore Jail on 9 pm Monday the 23rd day of March 1931. The body was not taken down until life was ascertained by a medical officer to be extinct; and that no accident, error or other misadventure occurred.”