Mail Dacoity in Surma Valley

[11] UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE MOVEMENT IN ASSAM FROM 1921 TO 1947: Mail Dacoity in Surma Valley

A series of mail robberies were Committed by the revolutionaries in the Sylhet district in the middle of 1933 and 1934. Initially, the revolutionaries planned to destroy the Government letter boxes. Therefore, incidents like the burning of letter boxes in two different places in Sylhet were committed by them.

The first case in Assam province of an attempt to burn the contents of a letter box was reported in the Habiganj sub-division of the Sylhet district in May 1932. A few days later another same case occurred in the Sylhet district, in the South Sylhet Sub-division. Later, the revolutionaries planned to loot the money contain inside the mail to perches arms and ammunition for their organizations. The absconding members of Dacca Sree Sangha were pioneers in mail robberies.

1933 “Chandpur” mail dacoity

A serious mail dacoity occurred in Sylhet on 12^th January 1933, by Binode Behari Bhattacharjee(an important and active member of the Maulavibazar Terrorist Organisation and a good motor driver and a custodian of funds of the party) with Anil Das alias Renu (leader of Dacca Sree Sangha, absconder), “Sukumar Nandi Mazumdar (leader of Dacca Sree Sangha, Absconding in Sylhet) ”  Satya Charan Ray alias Satyendra Ray (member of Dacca Sree Sangha) and Sreeprashad Upadhyayay alias Sreepath alias Jnan Pandey(leader of the Habiganj Revolutionary part). They used a car driven by Binode Behari Bhattacharjee, “armed with firearms, iron rods, etc”.    subsequently chloroformed, assaulted two mail runners in broad daylight about nine miles from Sylhet town at “Chandpur”   and got away with insured covers and cash amounting to Rs. 8,186 were taken away. The Government suspected that the dacoity was committed by an expert from Bengal assisted by Sylhet students who were able to supply the local knowledge. The Government had offered a reward of Rs. 1000 for information about the offenders. Binode Behari Bhattacharjee was given part of the booty by Anil Das, who took away the rest. A secret meeting was held after the Chandpur Mail Dacoity in purchasing arms and ammunition for the party, Welfare Association, Sylhet ( a branch of the Dacca Sree Sangha) establishing connecting with other terrorist groups in India and obtaining a motor car to be placed at Binode Behari Bhattacharjee’s disposal to train another recruit in motor driving.

Another serious mail dacoity took place in March 1933, near Itakhola railway station in Sylhet district in which one man was shot dead and several others were wounded with revolver shots, and Rs. 3000 were stolen. According to police reports the dacoity was committed by a group of revolutionaries from the Tippera district of Bengal. The terrified villagers lost their temper and caught three of the four dacoits. Biraj Mohan Deb alias Bagha, one of  them was also charged with an attempt to murder  a police informer in the Trippera district. After trial one of the accused was sentenced to death and three others to transpiration for life.

Another mail dacoity at Samshernagar was also committed on September  2^nd,  1933, on a railway platform in Sylhet district led by Ananga Mohan Bhattachrjee (member of Sylhet Terrorist Organisation) who was a custodian of arms and ammunitions of the party. Binod Behari Bhattacharjee and  Barada Charan Bhattacharjee also took part in the dacoity. The property was stolen Rs.2, 347-8. The party made more attempts at dacoity in Sylhet district during 1934, which, however, did not materialize. The government did not succeed in capturing any dacoits. Binode Behari Bhattacharjee, Debesh Kamal Bhattacharjee, Krishnamoy Bhattacharjee were arrested but discharged for lack of evidence.

A secret meeting of terrorist leaders was held in Brajendra Nath Arjun’s, (Secretary of the Tarun Sangha), house, and it was decided to stage mail robberies on the Maulavibazaar-Rajnagar and Maulavibazar –Srimangal lines. To materialize their plan the terrorists, committed a mail dacoity on 5^th December 1933.  The runner carrying the mail from Ajmiriganj to Habiganj in Sylhet district was attacked by Bhadralog youths who carried away the bags and abstracted insured covered, valued Rs. 7,680. The Government suspected the post and telegraph office may be connected with the dacoity.

 The leader of the  Habiganj revolutionary organization, Satya Charan Ray alias Satyendra Ray staged the Paikpara(Sylhet)  Mail dacoity with the help of Sanat Dutta (Jugantar  leader) . He formed a gang at Habiganj with Ramesh Dutta Chaudhury, Gunendra Mitra and others for the dacoity. Besides Sanat Datta he had also closed touch with Uma Sankar Petua (a leader of  Silchar revolutionary party and Tinsukia Mail dacoity approver). He was armed with five chambered revolver at that time.  According to Government reports, the rifle used in the Tinsukia Mail dacoity was actually procured by Satyendra Ray and sent Sylhet for the use of the party. In the course of inquiry of the Tinsukia Mail dacoity case, it transpired that a gun (not rifle ) which was used by the dacoits and seized by the police was from the custody of Kumar Karan Kishor Deb Barman alias Karna Kanta of Agartala, in whose house Satyendra Ray lived for the sometime before the dacoity. Umednagar Mail robbery was  also committed by  Satyendra Ray with Gopendra Ray on  20^th Marchred-handed, 1934,  robbed cash and postal articles worth rupees 9,595/- from the mail runners on the Ujmirganj – Habiganj road. Satyendra Ray was caught by red-handed with a loaded pistol and cash money worth rupees 6,785. An attempt was made to rescue him from the Habiganj Jail by Sree Prashad Upadhyaa with three activists from Bengal.  Police received the information and  Satyendra Ray and other terrorist prisoners were transferred to the Sylhet Jail in May 1934. But even after then the mail dacoity continued.   

In Ajmiriganj-Habiganj rout there was third mail dacoity within a year in September 1934. The other two were in December 1933 and March 1934.

  An abortive mail dacoity was committed at Halitola of  Sylhet district on 31^st May  1935, by Pradyumna Kr.  Nag,  and Paresh Chandra Chaterjee of “Habiganj Terrorist Party (both) armed with weapons”  were arrested and convicted under section 393/398 I.P.C., and sentenced to 7 years rigorous imprisonment. 

(Source: Assam State Government Archive)