CHAPTER 7
FURTHER ACTIVITIES
As Bhagat Singh was a persona grata with the C. I. D. Police, their first hypothesis included his name as a probable culprit. So they began to hunt for him. But since the security bonds were cancelled by the High Court, the police could not get any clue of Bhagat Singh. In confidential circulars to Police Officers, instructions were laid down to arrest him whenever he could be found. Special Police Officers were deputed to trace out his whereabouts. Police-constables who-knew him were posted at big junctions, and a strict watch was kept by the Railway Police.
In spite of such extreme measures, Bhagat Singh roamed about undaunted. The success of the Saunders murder had brought prestige to the party, and it created much sensation among the students. Henceforth, monetary conditions of the party began to improve. On the very night when the murder was committed, the group of the few young men who lived in a rented house in Lahore had run so short of money that they could not arrange for light at night. But in a few days they began to receive subscriptions which removed their pecuniary want for the time being.
The Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress was now about to begin, and it was decided that Bhagat Singh and Bijoy Kumar Sinha should go there to study situation, and to establish connexion with the Bengal Revolutionary Party. Since the arrests in U.P in connexion with the Kakori Case and the rigorous application of the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment Act in Bengal, the connexion between U. P. and Bengal had been broken. The Deoghar Conspiracy Case broke the last link in the chain.
There was not much difficulty for Bhagat Singh to get entrance into the inner circle of the revolutionary organizations in Bengal. He was very much impressed to meet the veteran leaders of the movement, who had spent the greater portion of their lives in Jail. But he found that they had no faith in the methods adopted by Bhagat Singh and his party in U. P. and the Punjab. In one thing only they all agreed, namely the ultimate necessity of an armed revolution to bring about freedom of the country. But in other matters, such as the need of a socialistic outlook, the place of terrorism in the party Programme, the need of secrecy, etc., they differed widely.
His conversations with some old terrorists opened out to him the need of manufacturing bombs. With this purpose in view he began to look out for a trained expert who could teach their party the complete process in the manufacture of bombs. With some difficulty he secured the services of an expert. At first he hesitated, saying that as a member of the Revolutionary Party of Bengal, he was under the discipline of the party leaders who disapproved of the manufacture or use of bombs. But Bhagat Singh ultimately convinced him that what might be true for Bengal was not true for U. P. or the Punjab, and that the manufacture and use of bombs would be restricted to those provinces, thereby leaving Bengal in peace to work out its program
Besides arranging for the manufacture of bombs, Bhagat Singh was able to come into personal touch with the newly recruited members of the Bihar branch of H. S. R. Association. A new centre was established at Calcutta in charge of a Behari member. An assylum was also established here to give shelter to absconders.
On account of the sympathetic attitude of the dealers, the necessary materials and chemicals for the manufacture of bombs were easily procured. It was decided that the preparations should be done at Agra, where a new house was rented for this purpose. The bomb-expert arrived at the appointed time, and taught the complete process to a select group. For the next two months, the party remained engaged in the manufacture of these deadly weapons. Besides Agra, Lahore and Saharanpur were also used as bomb manufacturing centers.
Two of the first batch of bombs that were manufactured at Agra were taken to Jhansi where they were exploded for the purpose of experimenting their bursting capacity. The members seemed to have been quite satisfied with the results.
At this time one of the members of the party fell seriously ill which ultimately proved to be a virulent type of smallpox. Bhagat Singh and his comrades nursed him day and night, regardless of the risks involved to themselves. It was mainly due to the careful nursing of these young men that his life was saved. But, strange to say, it was the same man who turned out an approver within a short time of his arrest, and implicated the very same comrades who "had done so much to save his life during his severe illness.