Balwa Murder Case - 1925 - Bombay(British Raj)/Indore(Present day Madhya Pradhesh )

4) Balwa murder case - 1925 - Bombay(British Raj)/Indore(Present day Madhya Pradhesh )

 This case had the ingredients
of a popular potboiler but for the fact that it happened in real life and not reel life - Muslime Coutesan,  Hindu Royalty, Romance, Jealousy,
 Muslim Business Tycoon, British Police, Abdication of throne by a Maharaja, Murder, Papprazzi, felony, blood, revenge and rescue. Also, it showed the
administration might of the British Law Makers and such an impartial judgment would be unthinkable these days.

A motor-car, containing, besides the driver and the cleaner, two men and a woman, drove towards the Hanging Gardens at the top of Malabar Hill.
Almost immediately thereafter another car, a red Maxwell, containing six or seven men drove up, and deliberately bumped into the first car.
Both the cars came to a stop.  The inmates of the red Maxwell jumped out shouting abuses at one of the men and the woman in the other car.
After jumping out, they surrounded the first car on both sides, two or three men mounting the foot-boards on either side.
The first car belonged to one Abdul Kadar Bawla, a wealthy businessman of Bombay.  The other man was his manager named Mathew.

The woman in Bawla's car was Mumtaz Begum, a beautiful Muslim dancing girl, who had been in the keeping of the Maharaja of lndore, Tukoji Rao Holkar III,
the Maharaja of Indore, for about 10 years,
until sometime before the incident of 12th January 1925. She was apparently fed up with her life in the princely harem at Indore;
and had managed a few months back to get away from her gilded cage. She found a harbour, a home, and an unofficial husband in Abdul Kadar Bawla.
This escapade of the girl had apparently caused fierce resentment in high quarters at
Indore, as an affront to the dignity of her princely patron. The young Maharaja gave orders to punish the run-awa Helen of Indore.

The red Maxwell contained this gang of desperate ruffians, determined to kidnap the girl by force.
On the evening of the 12th of January this gang apparently tracked down their intended victims, pursued them on their journey up Malabar Hill,
 and overtook the car near the Hanging Gardens.  The gang first tried to drag Mumtaz from the side of Bawla.
On her resisting this attempt, and crying out for help, and on
Bawla trying to shield her and prevent her from being carried away, one of the gang slashed at the girl's face with a knife, inflicting four
 injuries on her face, which partially disfigured her.  Simultaneously, more than one shot was fired at Bawla.
Bawla was seriously wounded and died shortly after.

He might have got what he wanted if it wasn’t for another car full of English military officers. They joined the fight,
 attacking the men with a golf club that they had just used at the Willingdon Club, snatching the weapons from their hands
and carrying Mumtaz off to their own car. The Brave british officers suffered many causalites - several injuries,
including a gunshot and a knife wound, but the gang was overpowered.

Nine men were tried for the assault, kidnapping conspiracy and Bawla’s murder.
 The trial took several days, drew crowds of spectators to the High Court and fuelled sensationalist stories
in newspapers across the world. The military officer’s testimony helped nail six of the attackers,
but the charges of conspiracy and murder were harder to prove.
The defence lawyers argued that Bawla, who had a license for a revolver, had fired first.
They also claimed that Mumtaz was willing to return to Indore but was being prevented from doing so by Mr. Bawla.

Neither story stuck. the verdict found six accused guilty of murder and one other guilty of the conspiracy charge as well.
Three of the men were sentenced to death, but only two were hanged. The third is said to have gone mad as
soon as he heard his fate.
The Viceroy, Lord Reading, offered The Maharaja of Indore, a commision of inquiry under the resolution of 1920; though he doubted whether
a prince as jealous of his izat as Tukohi Rao had shown himself to be throughout his regime would accept. The Viceroy's
judgement proved correct.

"Rightly or wrongly", wrote the Maharaja by way of reply, "I have all along adhered to the belief that
neither on the analogy of Internation law nor as a matter resting upon treaty is a prince of my position liable to
be tried". Having sealed his fate, Tukoji Rao preemopted the inevitable order for his disposition by abdicating in favour of his son, Prince Yeshwant.

What happened to Mumtaz Begum?  The press pursued Mumtaz, prying into her private life, and dogging her movements at every step and
every spot where she happened to travel. Such is the persistent and pernicious power of modern journalism. Not much is known about her after this incident.


Modern Day impact -

a. The incident spawned a Hindi feature film, Kulin Kanta, which was released in 1925.
b. With the successful cracking of the case, the Bombay police was considered as the best but second next to "Scotland Yard".
c. This case sealed the might of the Indian Maharajas and within the next twenty years, they lost everything.
d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tukojirao_Holkar_III
e. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19420928&id=A10sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7MoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6817,2312321