Eighty-seven years after Bhagat Singh was hanged for the murder of a British police officer, Pakistan today for the first time displayed some records of the legendary freedom fighter's case file including his execution certificate.
Singh, 23, was hanged by British rulers on March 23, 1931 in Lahore, after being tried under charges for hatching a conspiracy against the colonial government. The case was filed against Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru for allegedly killing British police officer John P Saunders.
The Punjab Archives Department could not display the whole record of the case file of Singh as it was not reportedly 'fully prepared.'
One document about the execution of death sentence of Bhagat Singh says: "I (superintendent of the jail) hereby certify that the sentence of death passed on Bhagat Singh has been duly executed and that the said Bhagat Singh was accordingly hanged by neck till he was dead at Lahore Jail on 9 pm Monday the 23rd day of March 1931. The body was not taken down until life was ascertained by a medical officer to be extinct; and that no accident, error or other misadventure occurred."
In a letter to the district magistrate Delhi on April 25, 1929, for allowing him newspapers and books, Bhagat Singh wrote: "I will be obliged of you if you kindly allow me the use of daily newspapers and books. Yours Etc."
"There could be no other object of the police to go out of the way and to arrange the identification parade at the Cantonment police station but to give an opportunity to see Bhagat Singh in the face identification parade. This identification parade was of no value."