He went inside and took his place in the crowd that had lined up to greet Gandhi. A fully loaded Beretta with seven bullets lay hidden in one of his trouser pockets. Then he took another tonga, this time to Birla House.
"Godse took a tonga to the Birla Mandir and spent some time in front of the statues of Shivaji and Baji Rao Peshwa. The next day around 3 pm, Godse and Apte parted ways. Apte was still looking for alternatives, but coming up short," the book says. "After some negotiation, Godse paid Rs 10 - one half of it as room fare and the other half as a bribe - to the booking clerk, Sundar Lal. On 29 January, Godse and Apte arrived at the New Delhi Railway Station and tried to secure the retiring room. When Dandwate asked for it, Goel agreed on one condition - that either his pistol be replaced or he be given Rs 500. Two things were certain - there was a gun and a gunner to kill Mahatma Gandhi," it says.ĭandwate got the pistol from Jagdish Prasad Goel, the principal officer of Parchure's HRS. Dandwate hailed a tonga passing by Godse and Apte went off on their way.
At 10.30 pm, Godse and Apte packed their bedding and bag. "Then Apte went out for dinner while Godse skipped the meal altogether. He would send the balance (Rs 200) later, he said," the book says. “Godse and Apte took turns to check the pistol, take out its magazine and fill it with seven cartridges. On 28 January, the Beretta gun was bought in Gwalior from arms dealer Gangadhar Dandwate at Parchure's house.
He and Narayan Apte, who was in charge of the logistics, had come to Gwalior to seek Parchure's help in getting a good revolver. There is a full chapter titled "The Beretta Gun that Killed Gandhi" in the book describing how the weapon was chosen.Īfter a failed assassination attempt on 20 January 1948, it was decided that Gandhi had to be killed before 2 February as he was going out of Delhi after that day.
0 kommentar(er)
