Bhagat Singh’s pistol displayed at BSF Museum at Hussainiwala
Ferozepur, May 28, 2017: The avenging pistol – epic .32 mm bore Colt automatic pistol of Bhagat Singh – which had killed British offier John Saunders on December 17, 1928 – was displayed in a special glass showcase on a stand made of steel with photograph of Bhagat Singh, at Border Security Force Museum at Hussainiwala today.
The Epic Colt .32 bore pistol registered No.168896 automatic patented April 20,1897 manufactured on Dec. 22, 1903 by Colt’s PT. FA. Mfg. Co., Hartford CT, USA was the one which was issued by Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singht to shoot John Saunders, the Assistant Police Superintendent outside the Punjab Civil Secretaria, Lahore on Dec. 17, 1928 to avenge the death of eminent freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai, who had succumbed due to I juries as a result of lathi charge during the Simon agitation.
The pistol was with Punjab Police Academy (Phillour) till October 1969 after which it had been issued to Central School for Weapons and Tactics (CSWT) BSF Indore, where it was kept till it was transferred in April 2017 to be displayed in the Hussainiwala BSF Museum.
It’s almost after 90 years and half a century of being forgotten in a storeroom, Bhagat Singh’s pistol had been found, which has travelled from Lahore to Phillaur, Indore, Jalandhar and today at Hussainiwala for display at BSF Museum – where number of weapons are put on show for the public.
Custodian of the CSWT museum, Asstt. Commandant Vijendra Singh is said to be surprised when the black paint of the pistol was removed and matched the serial number – 168896 – with the record and found to be of Bhagat Singh’s pistol.
Speaking to the media persons, B.S.Rajpurohit, DIG, BSF, Ferozepur Sector, “With the display of historical pistol of Bhagat Singh at the museum, thousands of people who visit the Hussainiwala for witnessing retreat ceremony, will get to see this weapon now”.
In reply to a question, he said, the youths who are the future of the country will feel motivated about the sacrifices of revolutionaries who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of India.
It is added here that the pistol was requisitioned by the BSF and was brought to the Central School of Weapons & Tactics, Indore, on October 7, 1969, along with seven other firearms from the Punjab Police Academy in Phillaur, where it had been since 1944, three years before Partition, after being received from the officials in Lahore.
Few days back, Punjab Students Union and certain NGOs have also demanded the display of historical pistol at Ferozepur hideout of Bhagat Singh and his associates at Toori Bazar, Ferozepur which is yet to be developed as heritage for converting into Museum and Library. Thus, BSF museum was the only ideal place to put on view for the public visiting Hussainiwala to see the thrilling retreat ceremony – lowering of flags of India and Pakistan – by the BSF jawans and rangers of Pakistan, with typical body gestures to relegate each other.
