Flash Back

Battle of the Verandah: (Writers Building)

Every battle has to be properly planned, more so if it is a battle between two unequals. In the present case, one was the mighty British Govt. and the other the microscopic revolutionary trio, Binoy, Badal (Sudhir) and Dinesh. The first two died almost on the spot and Dinesh followed. He was hanged after a trial. The more important of the two Binoy Krishna Bose had already hit the headlines when he had killed Lowman, the I. G. of Police on 29th August, 1930. The police chief had gone to visit some ailing officer at Dhaka Medical College Hospital where Binoy was a student. It was a broad daylight and daring episode. His identity was never a secret. A copy of his photo was taken out of college magazine and pasted all over. A reward of Rs. 10,000/- was announced. But Binoy was far from helping someone receiving it. He was ultimately caught only to die at the Medical College Hospital in Kolkata, after the Battle of the Verandah. In August, there are torrential rains in East Bengal. One such morning two Muslim villagers, with tatters covering their bare bodies were seen wading through knee-deep water. The nearest railway station, Dolaiganj, was their destination. They entered the platform which was swarming with policemen. Binoy's photo was pasted all around. The train from Dhaka to Narayanganj arrived. Every compartment was searched thoroughly. Binoy and his companion got into a third class compartment which was already over-crowded. When the train reached Narayanganj, the police searched not only the train but had instructions to search the boats also. A river had to be crossed before one could reach Kolkata. Binoy came to know of it through his own sources. When the train slowed near a flag station, he began to walk towards the Ghat for a boat. They had to hire one to cross the turbulent Meghna. They changed their address, from Muslim beggars in tatters to one of a Zamindar with a servant. For a while they had to travel by a steamer. The whole episode was like a scene from a film. The name of the companion was Supati Roy. On reaching the city, they avoided Sealdah, the terminus, and got down at Dum Dum, a small way-side station. The journey from there to the slum area of No. 7, Waliullah lane in Central Kolkata, was somewhat uneventful. But a long stay for unknown persons might arouse suspicion. Binoy shifted to a Colliery at Katras Garh and from there to a peaceful place in North Kolkata.