Kakori Conspiracy

Kakori Conspiracy, armed robbery on August 9, 1925, of a train in what is now central Uttar Pradesh state, north-central India, and the subsequent court trial instituted by the government of British India against more than two dozen men accused of involvement, directly or otherwise, in the crime.

The robbery took place at the town of Kakori, about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Lucknow, the train’s final destination. On board the train was money that had been collected from various railway stations enroute and that was to be deposited at Lucknow. In a well-planned operation, Ramprasad Bismil led a band of 10 revolutionary activists who stopped the train, subdued the train’s guard and passengers, and forced open the safe in the guard’s quarters before fleeing with the cash found within it. The raiders were members of the newly established Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), a militant organization dedicated to freeing India from British rule through revolution, including armed rebellion. To fund their activities, the HRA carried out raids such as the train robbery.

Within a month of the attack, more than two dozen HRA members had been arrested for conspiracy and for having perpetrated the act. More arrests followed, and in all, some 40 people were rounded up. Eventually, 29 individuals were put on trial before the special magistrate at Lucknow. Of those, three—including Chandrasekhar Azad, a leader of the HRA—remained at large, and two others became witnesses for the prosecution in return for lighter sentences. The trial continued for nearly 18 months, with many leading nationalist lawyers providing defense counsel for the accused.

The final judgments were pronounced on April 6, 1927. Three (later four) men were sentenced to death, and one was given life imprisonment. Most of the remaining defendants were given prison sentences of up to 14 years, although two were acquitted, and two more were pardoned. Azad remained unapprehended and was killed in an encounter with police in February 1931. The severity of the sentences—particularly of capital punishment—provoked considerable outcry among the general Indian populace. Several attempts were made to save the four who were sentenced to die, including passage of a motion in the legislative council of the United Provinces (the colonial precursor to Uttar Pradesh) and a petition to the British viceroy, but they were rejected. The four men were executed in December 1927.