The Kakori train robbery which took place on August 9, 1925 was in relation to the Indian Freedom Struggle. A train travelling to Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh was targeted at a station called Kakori for the precise reason that it was carrying moneybags
Bengaluru: You would have heard of many stories relating to train robberies and even watched movies themed on the same.
But have you heard about the Kakori train robbery?
Well, while the robbery steps into its 94th anniversary, we thought of revisiting it primarily because of two reasons. One, it is related to the Indian Freedom Struggle and two, many might not have even heard of it.
It was the year 1925. Indians were fighting against the British to earn back their freedom. While the Gandhis and the Nehrus had their own way of snatching freedom from the hands of the British, there were others who resorted to violence to teach the British a lesson.
The Kakori train robbery was a robbery orchestrated by two freedom fighters Ashfaqullah Khan and Ram Prasad Bismil, both belonging to the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA).
On the ninth of August, the targeted train – Number 8 Down Train – was travelling from Saharanpur to Lucknow via Kakori (Uttar Pradesh).
When it reached Kakori, as per the conceived plan, one of the revolutionaries pulled the chain to signal an emergency. As the train stopped, he overpowered the guard and robbed the train.
The train was transporting money to the British treasury. So, revolutionaries targeted this train, specifically the cabin in which the moneybags were kept. Once the guard of this cabin was overpowered, the revolutionaries ran away to Lucknow with Rs 1 lakh, which was a big amount at that point in time.
Interestingly, though the motive was to steal money and kill none, one passenger – Ahmed Ali – was killed as a gun misfired.
It is also interesting to note that the robbery was conducted to fund the HRA in its mission to free India, and gain popularity among the public.
40 people were arrested in relation to the incident and four out these were hanged to death.
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