Benoy Krishna Basu: The Slayer of Two British I.G. Officers

In 1928, along with several of his companions, he joined the Bengal Volunteers, a group formed by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose during the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. Soon, this group transformed itself into an active revolutionary organization whose objective was the elimination of notorious British police officers. In 1930, the organization decided to assassinate Lowman, the Inspector General of Police. Benoy targeted Lowman—who had come to visit an ailing police officer at the Medical School Hospital—with his bullets; Lowman died instantly, and Superintendent of Police Hudson was gravely injured. Benoy could not be captured, but his photograph was taken from the college and pasted across all of Bengal. Although all attempts to apprehend him failed, he narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the police on several occasions.

His evasion of the police was no less than a thrilling cinematic screenplay, during which he disguised himself as everything from a Muslim beggar to a wealthy landlord. The organization's next target was Inspector General of Prisons N.S. Simpson, who treated Indian prisoners in jails with inhuman cruelty. The resolve was not only to assassinate him, but also to strike the Secretariat Building—the Writers' Building—located at Dalhousie Square in Calcutta, thereby striking terror into the hearts of British officers.

On 8 December 1930, dressed in European attire, Benoy Krishna Basu along with his comrades Dinesh and Badal Gupta entered the Writers' Building and struck down Simpson. What followed was a fierce exchange of gunfire between the British police and the three young revolutionaries, in which several other officers were also gravely wounded. After a prolonged engagement, the police began to overpower them. Unwilling to be arrested, Badal Gupta consumed potassium cyanide, while Benoy and Dinesh shot themselves with their own revolvers. Both were rushed to the hospital, where Benoy passed away on 13 December 1930, but Dinesh survived. He was tried, sentenced to death, and hanged in Alipore Jail on 7 July 1931 at the age of 19.

The martyrdom of these three stirred countless hearts, and this caravan of revolution marched onward. After independence, to keep the memory of Benoy and his comrades Dinesh and Badal immortal, Dalhousie Square was renamed after them, and today it is known as B.B.D. (Benoy-Badal-Dinesh) Bagh. Endless obeisance and heartfelt tributes to such an immortal martyr, Benoy Krishna Basu, on his birth anniversary.