Savarkar beneficiary of a faulty probe?

Vappala Balachandran

The role of the late Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, also known as “Veer” Savarkar, in our independence struggle and his alleged involvement in Mahatma Gandhi assassination on 30 January 1948 were prime time visual debates after a new book “Veer Savarkar - The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition” was released on October 13 2021.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh claimed at the launch that Savarkar had submitted his mercy petition to the British government on Gandhiji’s advice. This was sharply contested by many historians.
Vikram Sampath’s two-part biography on Savarkar (Savarkar-A Contested Legacy) released in 2019 was also extensively discussed during these debates. Sampath started researching on Savarkar after then Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Iyer removed a plaque in Savarkar’s memory from the Cellular Jail premises in Andaman & Nicobar Islands in 2004.

However, a new book “The Murderer, the Monarch and the Fakir - A New investigation on Mahatma Gandhi’s Assassination” released in September-October this year was totally ignored by these debates. This volume was jointly written by journalists Appu Esthose Suresh and Priyanka Kotamraju and published by Harper Collins, India. Both are presently Senior Atlantic Fellows at the International Inequalities Institute, London School of Economics & Political Science.

The authors have meticulously researched and presented their work in a brisk and racy style in a simple story telling format. They have quoted from the National Archives, NMML, Bombay police records and Jeevan Lal Kapur Commission report.

The book highlights serious defects in our criminal investigation methodology during that era when we did not have the advantage of a central investigation agency with countrywide jurisdiction to minutely probe the conspiracy that had taken place at different locations, finally leading to the assassination of the Father of the Nation at Birla House in New Delhi.

Because of this lacuna, evidence against Savarkar on his involvement in the conspiracy given to Bombay Police by his bodyguard Appa Ramachandra Kasar and Secretary Gajanan Vishnu Damle on 4 March 1948 was never presented at the trial. “Had this evidence been presented during the trial, the outcome of it might have been different”.

On Page 88, the authors quote the case diary of the late J.D. Nagarwala, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Branch), Bombay, mentioning that accused N.V.Godse, during interrogation had mentioned that he had taken food in the Colony restaurant at Dadar after meeting Savarkar. Crime Report No: 25 of 29 February 1948 mentioned Sitaram Anantrao Shate, owner of Colony restaurant saying that the visitors to Savarkar had their meals in his restaurant and sometimes the money was paid by Damle. He added that between January 23 and 25, 1948 “Nathuram had visited his hotel for food and at that time he was found particularly in a confused state of mind”.

The authors allege that crucial evidence by way of interrogation of Gajanan Vishnu Damle and Appa Ramachandra Kasar in the case diary of February 1 1948 “never saw the light of the day until the late 1960s, well after Savarkar was dead”.

They quote Nagarwala on February 1, 1948: “From the story related by these two persons it appears that it was at these meetings of Swarkar (sic) with these two individuals that the plan to do away with Mahatmaji was finalised”

“The investigation by the Bombay Police under Nagarwala conclusively proved Savarkar’s involvement in the conspiracy. The fact that Godse and Apte had been in touch with Savarkar before and after the earlier attempt and ahead of the actual assassination was proved beyond doubt… These facts remained undisclosed to the public until the Kapur Commission reports”. They say that the prosecution never confronted Savarkar with Damle’s and Apparao’s statements during the trial.

The authors also quote another failure to save Gandhiji. On page 84, they say that Madanlal Pahwa had approached Prof. J.C.Jain, who had helped him earlier as a refugee and given a hint about the violent activities against Gandhiji by Savarkar and others. Jain did not take him seriously until he read about the failed assassination attempt on January 20, 1948. After that he rushed to Bombay Home Minister Morarji Desai who in turn asked Nagarwala to arrest Karkare and keep a close watch on Savarkar. This was never achieved.

The Jeevan Lal Kapur Commission was appointed consequent to the claim by Gajanan Vishwanath Ketkar, editor of “Kesari”(Pune) that he had prior knowledge of the possibility of Gandhi assassination. On 12 November 1964 a function was held in Pune to felicitate Gopal Godse, Madanlal Pahwa and Vish