He was speaking at a function held at the National PG College in Lucknow, where he unveiled the statue of Chandra Bhanu Gupta and also released a postage stamp.
Singh said, “In August 1925, an incident took place at a railway station near Lucknow which shook the foundations of the British rule. The revolutionaries fighting for freedom looted the British treasury near the Kakori railway station for the freedom of India.
Revolutionaries like Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaq Ullah Khan and Sachin Nath Bakshi were also involved in the incident, many of whom were arrested by the British government.
Several big leaders like Madan Mohan Malviya, Lala Lajpat Rai stood with the revolutionaries at that time. “When the trial of the Kakori case began, Chandra Bhanu Gupta stood in the court with eminent lawyer Govind Ballabh Pant on behalf of the revolutionaries and pleaded for them,” the defence minister said.
“Chandra Bhanu Gupta proved that he was a true patriot by making good use of his law degree to support the revolutionaries of the country,” Singh said.
He added that since it was this is the centenary year of the Kakori incident, it will be celebrated in Lucknow and other places in a “grand manner”.
On August 9, 1925, in Kakori, Indian freedom fighters looted the treasury of the British government to buy arms for their revolution against the British Raj.
In 1927, Ram Prasad ‘Bismil’, Ashfaqulla Khan and Thakur Roshan Singh were hanged to death by the British government for their involvement in the incident. PTI NAV SKY SKY