Madanlal Pahwa

The Unread Judgments on Gandhi’s Assassination

The investigation, trial, appeal to the high court and appeal to the privy council were all completed with remarkable speed, in 20 months.

This year on January 30 will be exactly 75 years to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination at the hands of those against his message of non-violence and fierce defence of a syncretic India. In a series of articles and videos, The Wire takes stock of Gandhi’s murder, and delves deeper into the forces and ideas behind independent India’s first act of terror. Recent years have seen another attempt to kill Gandhi, his ideas, spirit and message. We hope to help unpack where India stands today and its future, through the lense of how the Father of the Nation’s legacy is being treated.

Seventy five years ago, Nathuram Godse pumped three bullets into the chest of Mahatma Gandhi. The investigation, trial, appeal to the high court and appeal to the privy council were all completed with remarkable speed, in 20 months. A study of the judgments is rewarding for legal historians, and for collectors of trivia. For reasons of space, we are not going into the details of the conspiracy and the specific roles of the different accused persons, and are assuming that the reader is broadly familiar with these. Though Gandhi was shot in Delhi, the plot was hatched in the erstwhile Bombay Province and so, the investigating officer of the case was Jamshed Dorab Nagarvala (Jimmy Nagarvala), the deputy commissioner of police, Special Branch Bombay (Nagarvala rose to be inspector general of police and also headed the Indian Hockey Federation for many years). He was chosen not only for his skills as an investigator, but as Tushar Gandhi mentions in his book Let’s Kill Gandhi, he was fortuitously neither Hindu nor Muslim, and therefore communally neutral. The trial judge was Judge Atma Charan, ICS who sat at a special court constituted on May 4, 1948 under Sections 10 and 11 of the Bombay Public Security Measures Act, 1947. The court sat in a hall on the upper floor of a building in the Red Fort, which formerly housed barracks. Godse, Narayan Apte, Vishnu Karkare, Digambar Badge, Madanlal Pahwa, Shankar Kistayya, Gopal Godse and Vinayak Savarkar, who were then at Bombay, and Dattatreya Parchure, who was then at Gwalior, were brought to Delhi before the trial started and were lodged in the Red Fort in an area which was declared to be a prison. The charge-sheet against the accused (there were 11 in all but three were declared absconding) was submitted to the court on May 27, 1948. Badge was tendered a pardon on June 21, 1948.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

Since India was not yet a republic, the prosecutor was the Crown and the title of the judgment is “The Crown versus Nathuram Vinayak Godse and Others”. The charges were read out and explained to the accused. The accused pleaded not guilty and wanted to be tried. The prosecution was led by C.K. Daphtary, then advocate general of Bombay, who later became solicitor general of India, and then attorney general for India. His team of lawyers included J.C. Shah, who would go on to become chief justice of India and later head the post-Emergency Shah Commission of Enquiry. Godse was represented by V.V. Oak, advocate but later on applied for and got permission to argue himself. Apart from other counsel representing other accused, it is noteworthy that Savarkar was represented by the formidable P.R. Das of Patna who would soon thereafter lead a challenge to the zamindari abolition acts after the commencement of the Constitution. The evidence of the prosecution began on June 24, 1948 went on till November 6, 1948. The prosecution examined 149 witnesses, and brought on record 404 documentary exhibits and 80 material exhibits. The recording of the statements of the accused began on November 8, 1948 and continued till November 22, 1948. All the accused, except Shankar Kistayya, an employee of the approver Digambar Badge, filed written statements. They brought on record 119 documentary exhibits. The accused declined to adduce evidence in their defence. Interestingly and significantly, in his written statement, Godse took full ownership of the act and denied that the other accused had conspired with him to commit the murder. Some of the accused pleaded alibi. Kistayya, in his written statement, stated that at the bidding of Badge, he transported revolvers and bombs from place to place. He later retracted his statement, likely at the instance of the other accused. Savarkar contended that he had no control over the acts of Godse and Apte. Among the witnesses to be examined by the prosecution as PW-78 was Morarji Desai, the then home minister of the Bombay Province. His evidence was used to corroborate the meeting of one Professor Dr J.C. Jain (PW-67) with the Premier of Bombay B.G. Kher on January 21, 1948 about the explosion which took place at Birla House, Delhi on January 20, 1948 (Madanlal Pahwa and others made an abortive attempt to assassinate the Mahatma on that day). Final arguments began December 1, 1948 and continued till December 30, 1948 and the judgment running into 110 printed pages was delivered promptly in less than six weeks, on February 10, 1949. Also read: How the Probe Into Gandhi’s Assassination Honed in on the Hindu Mahasabha The first thing that strikes a lawyer on reading the judgment of the special court is the logical manner in which the judge divided his judgment into 27 chapters. Judge Atma Charan rejected Godse’s defence that he was solely responsible, and disbelieved alibis pleaded by others. He convicted Godse, Apte, Karkare, Pahwa, Gopal Godse, Kistayya and Parchure. Godse and Apte were sentenced to death while the others were sentenced to transportation for life. However, he acquitted Sarvarkar and in acquitting him, he noted that the prosecution case rested only on the evidence of the approver, Badge, and felt it would be unsafe to base any conclusions on the approver’s evidence alone. Strictures were passed against the Delhi Police for slackness in investigation of the case from January 20, 1948, when there was an abortive attempt by Pahwa, until January 30, 1948. The court said: “Had the slightest keenness been shown in the investigation of the case at that stage, the tragedy probably could have been averted.” Unlike in the case of a regular death sentence, which required confirmation by the high court under Section 381 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (now, Section 366 of the Criminal Procedure, 1973), Judge Charan ruled that under Section 16 of the Bombay Public Security Measures Act as extended to the Province of Delhi, the death sentence was not required to be submitted to the high court for confirmation. Judge Charan was later made the judicial commissioner of Ajmer. He was a judge of the Allahabad high court from December 22, 1952 to March 24, 1954, when he died in office. All the convicted persons filed appeals before the East Punjab high court at Simla, as it was then known. The high court was located at the Peterhof, which had earlier housed at least seven viceroys and governors general. The building is today a luxury hotel run by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. The three judges on the special bench which decided the appeals were A.N. Bhandari, ICS, G.D. Khosla, ICS and Achhru Ram. Godse once again sought and was granted permission to argue his own case. The judgments of the high court were again delivered swiftly, on June 21, 1949. The main judgment running into 360 typed pages was by Justice Achhru Ram. Justice Bhandari wrote a long concurring judgment without indicating why he felt the need to write a separate judgment. Justice Khosla wrote a one paragraph judgment only to disagree on the recommendation of the Justice Achhru Ram to commute the sentence of Pahwa. Godse’s appeal was not to challenge his conviction or sentence but only to dislodge the finding of conspiracy against the others. Obviously, he wanted to be known as the sole ‘hero’. Justice Bhandari’s judgment is written in the style of a story. It contains political history starting with the return of Gandhi from South Africa in 1914 and he narrates that history with a political slant. He makes character sketches of the different accused in interesting language. For instance, in describing Badge, the approver, he says he had a ‘penny-catching meanness of mind’. Justice Bhandari acquitted two accused, Parchure and Kistayya, on the ground that there was insufficient evidence. In the context of Parchure’s retracted confession, he makes observations which ring true even today – he says, a retracted confession is a source of great anxiety to criminal courts all over the world and particularly to criminal courts in this country where the police administration has degraded itself by crude methods.

Photo taken during the trial of the persons accused of participation and complicity in Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in a Special Court in Red Fort, Delhi. The trial began on May 27, 1948. V.D. Savarkar, wearing a black cap, is seated in the last row, while Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte are up front. Credit: Photo Division, GOI

Justice Bhandari found that the strictures by the special judge against the Delhi Police were unjustified and that “it was impossible for any police officer, however capable and efficient he might have been, to have prevented Nathuram from committing the crime on which he had set his heart.” He recommended grant of clemency to Gopal Godse, on the ground of his comparatively young age (27 at that time) and that he had probably joined the conspiracy under the combined and powerful influence of his brother Nathuram and Narayan Apte. Justice Achhru Ram, in his judgment, paid compliments to Godse saying that he “argued his appeal, I must say, with conspicuous ability evidencing a mastery of facts which would have done credit to any counsel…“ He also observed, “although he did not succeed in passing the Matriculation Examination, he is quite widely read. In arguing his appeal in this Court, he displayed a very fair knowledge of the English language and a remarkable capacity for clear thinking.” He convicted Godse and four others and acquitted Kistayya and Parchure. He recommended the case of Gopal Godse as well as Pahwa for commutation of sentence, taking note of their young age. He also held that the strictures passed by the trial judge against the Delhi Police were not justified. Justice Bhandari went on to become the chief justice of the Punjab high court, with a long tenure of seven years. Justice Achhru Ram retired soon after the judgment was delivered and practised as a senior advocate in the Supreme Court in its early years. Incidentally, he was the father of Col Prem Kumar Sahgal of Indian National Army fame and husband of Captain Lakshmi Sahgal. Justice Khosla became the chief justice of the Punjab high court for a shorter tenure of two years. After his retirement, he was appointed the Commission of Enquiry to enquire into the death of Subhas Chandra Bose in 1970. He also headed a Commission of Enquiry on film censorship which was formed in 1968. He recommended the creation of an independent Censor Board, separate from the government. He was also part of the Commonwealth Commission of Enquiry to enquire into the affairs of British Guiana. He was also a writer and broadcaster, and among the many books he wrote, one was The Murder of the Mahatma. Also read: How the RSS Distanced Itself From Gandhi’s Killer There was only one avenue of appeal left. A petition for special leave to appeal to the privy council was lodged by all the five who stood convicted and sentenced by the high court – Nathuram Godse, Apte, Karkare, Pahwa and Gopal Godse. They were represented by John McGaw, Barrister. The Crown was represented by the well-known Labour politician and King’s Counsel D.N. Pritt, who later appeared in the Supreme Court on behalf of Telangana Communists who were sentenced to death, ̐and also before the Bombay high court and other high courts in India. Significantly, he had also appeared for Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru before the privy council in 1930. He was assisted by two Indian barristers, R.K. Handoo and P.V. Subba Row. The judicial committee of the privy council had as its members Lord Greene, Lord Simonds, Lord Radcliffe, Sir John Beaumont and Sir Lionel Leach. Lord Radcliffe was the same person who, in five weeks, had drawn the border between India and Pakistan. Sir John Beaumont had been chief justice of the Bombay high court and Sir Lionel Leach had been chief justice of the Madras high court. After hearing McGaw’s arguments, the privy council without feeling the need for the Crown to reply, declined special leave to appeal. The governor general in council rejected the mercy petitions of Nathuram Godse (which was filed by his parents because he was not aggrieved by his own conviction and sentence), and Apte. Godse and Apte were hanged in Ambala jail on November 15, 1949. Pahwa, Karkare and Gopal Godse were released from jail in October 1964. After their release, they were felicitated at a function in Pune when Dr G.V. Ketkar, grandson of Balgangadhar Tilak, who presided over the function, revealed that Nathuram Godse had disclosed to him his idea to kill Gandhiji but was opposed by him and that he had had the information conveyed to the then chief minister of the Bombay State, Kher. A furore followed and the Government of India appointed a Commission of Enquiry initially headed by Gopal Swarup Pathak, MP and senior advocate, to enquire into the conspiracy to murder Gandhiji. But soon Pathak was appointed Union minister and the Commission was reconstituted under Justice Jivan Lal Kapur, a retired judge of the Supreme Court. The Commission in its report of 1969, like the special judge, faulted the Delhi Police for not acting between January 20, 1948 and January 30, 1948. He also found that important information had not been disclosed to Nagarvala. He observed:

“AlI these facts taken together were destructive of any theory other than the conspiracy to murder by Savarkar and his group and, in the opinion of the Commission. Mr. Nagarvala tripped because perhaps he was badly served by informants and contacts on whom he had every right to rely or there was some erroneous conclusion. Of course, he does say that this was merely an information which had yet to be verified: but did it deserve to be so seriously considered under the circumstances?”

A good 47 years later, one Pankaj Kumudchandra Phadnis, an ‘activist’, in a petition of the year 2016, filed a public interest litigation asking for a fresh enquiry into the murder, contending that there were four bullets and not three which were shot and that there may have been a second assassin. He argued that the reason why the privy council did not admit the appeals of the convicts was that the appeals could not have been decided before India became a republic with its own Supreme Court (contemporary newspaper accounts of the proceedings before the privy council do not indicate that this was the reason why the privy council declined leave to appeal). The Supreme Court appointed late senior advocate Amarendra Sharan as amicus curiae. He did painstaking research by examining the entire record of the case and exhibits at the National Museum. By a judgment dated March 28, 2018, the Supreme Court (Justices S.A. Bobde and L. Nageswara Rao) dismissed the petition, holding that there were only three bullet wounds in Gandhi’s body. The court said that reopening the case would be an “exercise in futility and would none the less fan new fires of controversy.” Raju Ramachandran is a senior advocate practising in the Supreme Court and M.V. Mukunda is an advocate practising in the Supreme Court.

Bhilare Guruji, the Man Who Saved Gandhi from One of the Many Attempts on His Life

Bhilare Guruji, who passed away on July 19 at the age of 98, will be remembered for generations for saving Mahatma Gandhi’s life in 1944.

Left: Mahatma Gandhi. Credit: Wikipedia. Bhilare Guruji. Credit: Tushar A. Gandhi

A few days ago, I heard Bhilare Guruji had passed away. Bhiku Dadaji Bhilare, who was respectfully called Bhilare Guruji, was a wrestler from Satara and also a Gandhian, a freedom fighter and a Congress stalwart. Most of all, he was my hero because he had saved Bapu’s life. After independence, Bhilare Guruji became an active Congressman and was elected multiple times to the Maharashtra legislature. He was a gram sevak and a rural banker.

I first read his story while researching for my book Let’s Kill Gandhi!. His heroic action was mentioned by Bapu’s secretary and biographer Pyarelal Nayyar in his multi-volume biography Mahatma and by the late Jagan Phadnis in Mahatmyachi Akher. Then, just before my book was published in 2007, I heard the story from the horse’s mouth when I met Bhilare Guruji at a function in Sangli, Maharashtra. I invited him to grace my book release function. Even in his autumn years, he looked like a mighty oak. As he recounted the story of that day in 1944, he left the audience spellbound.

Subsequently, we met on several occasions where Guruji was often asked to narrate that story. What struck me was that Guruji always said he had saved Bapu’s life on one occasion, suggesting that there were more attempts on his life.

After Bapu’s murder, many myths and lies have systematically been spread to justify the terrible deed. His murderer, Nathuram Godse, has become a hero for many. They worship him as well as the gun he used. Moves are afoot to build memorials and temples in the name of Bapu’s murderer. A murderer is being portrayed as the saviour of Hinduism, of a Hindu rashtra. The process to bestow sainthood on Godse is in progress. A murderer is being presented as a saint.

Much needs to be said about the truth behind Bapu’s murder, murderers and the larger conspiracy afoot to subvert the fledging nation, about the kingpin who was let off, about the organisation which conveniently washed Bapu’s blood off their hands and disowned the murderer who was one of their own.

But let me start by talking about all the attempts on Bapu’s life that failed, including the one that Bhilare Guruji foiled. This is my tribute to the memory of the man who saved Bapu.

The first attempt: Grenade attack in Poona on June 25, 1934

This happened when Bapu was travelling the length and breadth of the land, getting temples to throw open their doors for the Dalits and to convince upper caste villagers to allow them to use community wells. There was a lot of resentment and anger among upper caste Hindus. Sanatanis were raving and ranting against what they called desecration. Threats were uttered, hate was spewed – their target was Bapu. Bapu wasn’t bothered.

While passing through Poona on a Harijan yatra, members of the city’s municipality decided to honour him. A function was organised in the municipal hall. The following is an abridged eye witness account of the incident written by Shripad Joshi in his book, Mahatma, My Bapu, from the chapter, ‘From the Jaws of Death’:

The municipal hall was full of people that evening; the crowds had spilled into the street outside. Our boy scout band was excitedly waiting to play the welcome tune for Bapu; we waited in the southern balcony on the first floor, overlooking the street. I was the flute player of the band. Our scout master had ordered us to be ready to perform on his command, he was peering over the bannister at the street below. We heard a car pull up, someone said in a loud voice, “Gandhiji has arrived”; our master signalled us to start, we did. Just then, there was a loud bang. We thought they were bursting crackers to welcome Bapu. But the sound was much too loud. A cloud of dust and smoke drifted past our balcony. There were a few shouts and moans. “It’s a bomb”, we heard someone shout. Even before the sound of the explosion died down, we heard another car drive up. Bapu had arrived in the second car. “Vajva re!” (play), our master ordered. Bapu was rushed into the hall and the function continued. It was only after we finished playing the welcome tune and were packing up that a few policemen came up and asked us if we had seen anything suspicious or anybody lurking around suspiciously. None of us had. It was then we were told that a hand grenade had been tossed on the car from the terrace above. Fortunately, Gandhiji wasn’t travelling in the car and the grenade bounced off the bonnet of the first car and rolled into the middle of the street before exploding. The car, carrying Bapu and Ba, arrived just as the grenade exploded, but they were shielded by the first car. A few people suffered injuries, a couple of policemen suffered deep gashes from shrapnel, but there were no grievous injuries. Bapu was safe!

Speaking about the attack Bapu said, “I cannot believe, that any sane Sanatanist Hindu could ever encourage the insane act that was perpetrated this evening. However I would like the Sanatanist friends to control the language that is being used by the speakers and writers claiming to be speaking on their behalf. The sorrowful incident had undoubtedly advanced the Harijan cause. It is easy to see causes prosper by martyrdom of those who stand for them….. Let those who grudge me what remains to me of this earthly existence, know that it is the easiest thing to do away with my body….. What would the world have said, if the bomb had dropped on me and my party, which included my wife and three girls who are as dear to me as daughters and are entrusted to me by their parents? …I have nothing but deep pity for the unknown thrower of the bomb. If I had my way, and if the bomb-thrower was known, I should certainly ask for his discharge even as I did in South Africa, in the case of those who successfully assaulted me…..”

Bapu did not file a complaint and the police did not bother to investigate the matter further. The case was closed with the comment “assault by unknown perpetrators”. In the mid-1940s, there were hand grenade attacks on Taziya processions and in a Muslim-owned cinema hall in Ahmadnagar. Weapons and explosives along with hand grenades were recovered from the house of the manager of the city Hindu Mahasabha chief Vishnu Karkare. Investigations later showed that the hand grenades recovered from Ahmednagar were of the same make and batch as the one used in the attack on Bapu in Poona. Karkare was convicted in the Gandhi murder case and sentenced to life imprisonment. Karkare was a known Savarkarite and an associate of Narayan Apte, who was convicted and executed in the Gandhi murder.

The second attempt: Armed attack in Panchgani, July 1944

After his release from the Aga Khan Palace imprisonment, Bapu was frail and in poor health. He was advised rest and taken to recuperate to Panchgani, a hill station near Poona. He stayed at the Dilkhusha Bungalow in Panchgani along with his entourage. A group of Rashtriya Sevadal volunteers took care of his needs and were his unarmed guards. Because it was the monsoon season, the daily evening prayers were conducted in a hall of a local school. The prayers were open to all and a large gathering of locals and visitors would congregate every evening. The Rashtriya Seva Dal volunteers would organise the prayer meetings and manage the crowds. Bhiku Daaji Bhilare, a young wrestler from Bhilar village in Satara district of Maharashtra, was one of the volunteers. This is how he told the story of that evening:

“I was on duty that day. We were tense as a group of hot heads had arrived from Poona and were going around demonstrating and hurling abuses at Bapu. We were all annoyed. But Bapu restrained us. He asked us to invite the hot heads to come speak to him. Of course, they refused. We were asked to remain alert as the young men were known to be violent. As the prayers began, the rascals arrived at the scene and started a ruckus. Just as Bapu started to speak, one of the young men rushed towards the door and jumped through it. I was stationed near Bapu. I saw that the man was brandishing a jambhiya (a kind of dagger) as he rushed towards Bapu screaming abuse. I reacted instantaneously. My training as a wrestler came in handy, I tackled him before he could reach Bapu and pinned him down. In an instance, I had disarmed him. We then dragged the troublemaker out of the hall. Bapu warned us not to harm the assailant. We rounded up the other troublemakers and drove them away. We were relieved that Bapu was unharmed and safe. I was so glad that I had the opportunity to save Bapu.”

Nathuram Godse. Credit: Wikipedia

The assailant was Godse. Before leaving Poona, he had boasted to his fellow journalists that they would soon receive some startling news about Gandhi from Panchgani. Joglekar, a reporter working for the periodical Agranee, edited by Godse and published by Apte, corroborated the fact. A. David, editor of Poona Herald, deposing before the Kapoor Commission averred that Godse had made an attempt on Gandhiji’s life and that he too had heard of Godse’s boasts to fellow journalists. Times of India had published the news, “Poona Editor Attempts to Assault Gandhiji in Panchgani”.

The third attempt: Attack at Sevagram, Wardha, September 1944

Bapu was preparing to meet Muhammad Ali Jinnah and convince him not to demand a separate state for Muslims. He was to go to Bombay to talk to Jinnah. Extremist Hindu organisations had declared their opposition to any talks with Jinnah. For days, batches of protestors from the Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had laid siege to Sevagram. They shouted slogans against Gandhi and Jinnah and threatened to stop Gandhi from going to meet Jinnah in every way possible. The protests were becoming more angry day by day and there was a fear that it would turn violent. Sevagram was being monitored by the police.

As the car carrying Bapu drove up to the gate, a young man from the group rushed towards him brandishing a dagger. He was overpowered and disarmed by the police. The protestors were rounded up and taken to the Wardha police station. Bapu left for Bombay by train.

The incident has been described in detail by Pyarelal Nayyar, Bapu’s secretary and biographer in Mahatma The Last Phase Volume II. Pyarelal was accompanying Bapu and was an eye witness. Since no charges were brought and there were many RSS and Mahasabha supporters amongst the police, the protestors were treated to tea and snacks at the police station and let off. According to Pyarelal, a friendly policeman had told him about what had transpired at the police station: “The senior constable, while chatting with the leader of the group, casually asked why they were wasting their time in what was essentially a dispute between their leaders and Gandhi? Thatte, the leader of the group, contemptuously said, ‘Our leaders won’t need to sully their hands by dealing with Gandhi’. Then pointing to the young man who had rushed towards Gandhi with a dagger, Thatte said, ‘When the time comes to deal with Gandhi, this jamadar will do what is required’. The young man was Nathuram Vinayak Godse.”

Group photo of Hindu Mahasabha. Standing – Shankar Kistaiya, Gopal Godse, Madanlal Pahwa, Digambar Badge. Seated – Narayan Apte, Vinayak D. Savarkar, Nathuram Godse, Vishnu Karkare. Credit: Flickr

The fourth attempt: Derailing ‘The Gandhi Special’ train, June 29, 1946

Bapu was travelling to Poona from Bombay. ‘The Gandhi Special’ train, made up of a steam engine, two third class coaches and the guard’s carriage, was used for the journey. The train was travelling between Nerul and Karjat late on a dark rainy evening. It was a treacherous section and the driver was alert. The engineer saw a large boulder on the tracks ahead. If the train hit it, it would derail and fall into the ravine. Instantly, he applied the emergency breaks and brought the train to a halt, but the front wheels of the steam engine hit the stone and were damaged. A major tragedy was averted. In his report, the driver wrote that the boulder had been purposely placed on the track with the objective of derailing the train and causing an accident.

Speaking about it at the prayer meeting on June 30 in Poona, Bapu said, “By the grace of God, I have escaped from the jaws of death seven times. I have not hurt anybody nor do I consider anybody my enemy. I can’t understand why there are so many attempts on my life. Yesterday’s attempt on my life failed. I will not die just yet, I aim to live till the age of 125”.

“Gandhi Mhantat ke te 125 varsh jagtil, pan tyana tevdha jagu denaar Kon?” (Gandhi says he will live till he is 125, but who will let him live that long?), Nathuram Godse was reported to have mocked Bapu at a meeting of the Hindu Mahasabha later.

The fifth attempt: Bomb explosion at the prayer meeting at Birla House, January 20, 1948

As Bapu began to speak after the prayers from the Quran had been recited, a bomb exploded a few metres behind where Bapu sat. The wall on which the bomb exploded was damaged extensively.

Entrance to Birla House. Credit: Wikimedia

Those days, Bapu’s evening prayer speeches were broadcast by All India Radio live to the nation from Birla House. There is a tape of the prayer meeting held on January 20, 1948. At 17:13 into the recording, a loud explosion is heard. Voices rise in panic and then Bapu says, “Kuch nahi hua hai, baith jao, shant raho, kuch nahi hua hai….. agar sach mein kuch hoga toh hum kya dar jayenge? Shant ho jam cahlo baith jao…”. Bapu’s calming voice comforts the audience and the panic subsides. Madanlal Pahwa, a young refugee from Montgomery in West Punjab, was seen lighting the fuse of the bomb and was immediately arrested. He was interrogated and soon confessed that he was part of a conspiracy to murder Gandhi and that there were several others who had escaped. He exploded the bomb as planned but others had not done their part and the plot to murder Gandhi had failed. He hinted that an editor from Poona and the publisher of the periodical called Hindurashtriya were co-conspirators and leaders of the gang. Madanlal confessed that a dadhi-wala (bearded) arms supplier from Poona was assigned the job of shooting and killing Gandhi but he couldn’t fulfill the task. Digambar Badge was the bearded supplier from Poona who turned approver in the Gandhi murder trial. What troubled Madanlal’s interrogators was that despite the torture, Madanlal kept saying “Woh phir ayega!” (He will come back!).

On the evening of January 30, barely ten days after the failed attempt, Godse, Apte and Karkare returned to the prayer grounds at Birla House and mingled with the crowd, just as they had ten days ago. Nathuram blocked Bapu’s path as he walked towards his seat at the prayer ground accompanied by his walking sticks, Manu and Abha. He pulled out a 9 mm, semi automatic Berretta and from point blank range less than three feet, shot Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi thrice in the chest.

After failing several times in the past, the gang of murderers from Poona, with the support and help of their backers had finally succeeded in murdering Bapu. Alas, Bhilare Guruji wasn’t present to save him that fateful day.