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Four murders rocked city on first day of Independence

JALANDHAR: While the country was celebrating liberation from the British yoke on August 15 1947, Jalandhar city witnessed four murders on the first day of independence.

Four murders rocked city on first day of Independence

An FIR registered under Section 302 on August 15 in 1947



Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 17

While the country was celebrating liberation from the British yoke on August 15 1947, Jalandhar city witnessed four murders on the first day of independence.

The old records accessed by The Tribune at Jalandhar Police Commissionerate revealed that while three murder cases were registered at the Kotwali police station, one murder was reported at the police station in the Cantonment area on August 15 1947.

Commissioner of Police Praveen Sinha informed that in 1947, the city had three police stations. It included the Kotwali that now houses Police Station Division 2, the Sadar that now houses the Navi Baradari police station and the Cantonment police station which seemed to be situated somewhere in the Cantonment area only. The department has secured the crime records since 1946.

While the details of the FIRs written in Urdu are yet to be translated by the police department, renowned historian Deepak Jalandhar informed that while the whole nation was celebrating the spirit of freedom, Punjabis were filled with remorse due to their dissection with Pakistan.

“Jalandhar during that time had over 70 per cent Muslim population while only 30 per cent were Hindus. As the Muslims were leaving India, the Hindus and Sikhs coming from Pakistan were occupying the vacant houses,” informed Jalandhari who was around 15 years old at that time. His family also migrated from Shekhupura in Pakistan and occupied a vacant house in Dhann Mohalla.

He said not much communal riots took place in the city at that time but some incidents did get reported.

“A 21-year-old Muslim girl Shamim fired at a Hindu mob that attacked her near her house in Bhagat Singh Chowk. Also, two Muslim men were murdered in Quilla Mohalla area by a Hindu mob,” said the veteran writer.

Surprisingly, while the world was witnessing the birth of a new nation, the murders rocked the city. Of all the FIRs lodged on August 15 1947, the most interesting seemed to be that of Cantonment police station which hints at some explosive substance being used to kill people. While the whole FIR was written in Urdu, three words, ‘Explosive Substance’ and ‘ambulance’, were written in English. Sinha said since his office has retrieved such old records, efforts will be made to preserve them. Also, he said that the FIRs registered during the initial days of independence will be translated by language experts to explore more on the hidden aspects of the history of Jalandhar.

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