A murder that shook British India and toppled a king

16 hours ago
Neyaz Farooquee
BBC News, Delhi


Abdul Kadir Bawla was one of the wealthiest men in Bombay at the time of his murder

It looked like an ordinary murder. ... One hundred years ago on this day - 12 January 1925 - a group of men attacked a couple on a car ride in a upmarket suburb in Bombay (now Mumbai) in colonial India, shooting the man dead and slashing the woman's face. ... But the story that unfolded brought global spotlight on the case, while its complexity put the country's then British rulers in a spot of bother, and eventually forced an Indian king to abdicate. ... Newspapers and magazines described the murder as "perhaps the most sensational crime committed in British India", and it became "the talk of the city" during the investigation and subsequent trial.

The victim, Abdul Kadir Bawla, 25, was an influential textile businessman and the city's youngest municipal official. His female companion, Mumtaz Begum, 22, was a courtesan on the run from the harem of a princely state and had been staying with Bawla for the last few months. ... On the evening of the murder, Bawla and Mumtaz Begum were in the car with three others, driving in Malabar Hill, an affluent area along the shore of the Arabian Sea. Cars were a rarity in India at the time, and only the rich owned them.

Suddenly, another car overtook them. Before they could react, it collided with theirs, forcing them to stop, according to intelligence and newspaper reports. ... The attackers showered expletives on Bawla and shouted "get the lady out", Mumtaz Begum later told the Bombay High Court. ... They then shot Bawla, who died a few hours later.

A group of British soldiers, who had inadvertently taken a wrong turn on their way back from a golf game, heard the gunshots and rushed to the scene. ... They managed to catch one of the culprits, but one officer suffered gunshot wounds when an attacker opened fire at them.


Mumtaz Begum was renowned for her beauty

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