Khudiram Bose: Why did Judge Douglas Kingsford become a target of him? how he was caught? all you need to know about Muzaffarpur conspiracy case
During his time Bengal was a hotbed of revolutionaries and freedom fighters, and freedom movements were more visible in Bengal than other regions. Reason was being the presence of a large number of British officials in Calcutta which was then the capital of British India.
Khudiram Bose, India’s youngest freedom fighter was born on December 3, 1889, and hanged to death in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur jail at the age of 18 for planning to assassinate the British judge Douglas Kingsford. He had executed to death on August 11, 1908.
At the age of 18, Bose, and his friend Prafulla Chaki made a plan to assassinate judge Kingsford. They threw a bomb on a vehicle of the judge but he escaped the attack and unfortunately, two British women Mrs Kennedy, the wife of Pringle Kennedy, a leading pleader of the Muzaffarpur Bar, and her daughter were killed in an unsuccessful attempt to kill judge Kingsford.
Muzaffarpur Conspiracy Case
Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose were chosen in 1908 by the revolutionaries based in Calcutta – Anushilan Samiti to get the job done. The two young revolutionaries landed in Muzaffarpur in the third week of April 1908 with some weapons. They stayed in a free, charitable inn of a Bihari zamindar at Dharmashala and carefully watched the daily activities of judge Kingsford.
On the evening of 30 April 1908, Prafulla and Bose reached the European Station Club with the bomb and lay ambushed under the shade of a tree in front of the club gate. They went inside the club after the arrival of Kingsford. Both the youngsters did not realize that they had chosen the wrong place for ambushing. It is said that Khudiram and Prafulla had waited in front of Kingsford’s house, not the European Station Club, where Kingsford and his wife were playing bridge with Mr and Mrs Kennedy.
Soon Khudiram was apprehended by the police and hanged to death in Muzaffarpur jail after the trial. He was not afraid when the noose was around his neck while the other accused Prafulla escaped from the scene and shot himself to death before being caught by the police.
Why did Bose want to kill Judge Kingsford?
Bose, an epitome of fearlessness, had decided to kill the Magistrate of Calcutta Douglas Kingsford because of his unjust, biased and harsh judgments on Indian nationalists.
Douglas Kingsford, former Chief Presidency Magistrate of Calcutta was a colonial British judicial officer and was dealing with lots of cases against freedom fighters and revolutionaries in his court in Calcutta.
His judgments on Indian nationalists were not based on merit but on hate and partiality. His inhuman, unjustified and vindictive verdicts against the ”Swadeshi and anti-Partition activists” earned him a bad name and later the people across Bengal considered him ruthless and cruel.
When Kingsford was the presiding judge in a sensational case against Aurobindo Ghosh, editor of Vandemataram and its publisher Bipin Chandra Pal, a young 15-year-old boy revolted against the police who ill-treated the Indians in the court.
Judge Kingsford, without any remorse or any consideration for the age of the boy, ordered 15 lashes. The boy shouted Vande Mataram after every lash.
This news appeared on the front page of every newspaper of Bengal that led to resentment and anger in revolutionaries. This act was deeply embedded in the mind of Jugantar group revolutionaries and then they have decided to kill inhuman judge Kingsford.
The local newspapers like Yugantar, Vandemataram, etc run by natives carried lots of news items about the oppressive British rule and their high-handedness in dealing with the natives and giving them scant respect for their free India concept. His antipathy toward Indians was quite well-known and he was highly critical of the Bengali newspaper Jugantar.
What was the situation of Bengal during 19s
During his time Bengal was a hotbed of revolutionaries and freedom fighters, and freedom movements were more visible in Bengal than other regions. Reason was being the presence of a large number of British officials in Calcutta which was then the capital of British India.
Bengal was first seized by the East India Company in an unethical manner under the direction of Robert Clive. The murder of the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-daulah was carried out by Clive and his co-worker James Watts. The British had been in Bengal since the later part of the 1700s, exploiting the land, people and natural resources. However, Britain had received vast revenue from the Indian subcontinent and extended, improved their economy at the cost of reducing Indians to poverty.
Chaos mars Lionel Messi’s Kolkata GOAT Tour event as fans protest poor arrangements
Lionel Messi’s brief appearance in Kolkata was overshadowed by chaos as fans alleged mismanagement, prompting an apology and an official enquiry by the state government.
Lionel Messi’s much-anticipated appearance in Kolkata turned chaotic on Saturday after thousands of fans alleged mismanagement at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan, leaving many unable to even see the Argentine football icon despite holding high-priced tickets
Fans express anger over limited access
The Kolkata leg of the G.O.A.T. Tour was billed as a special moment for Indian football fans, with ticket prices ranging between Rs 5,000 and Rs 25,000. However, discontent grew rapidly inside the stadium as several attendees claimed their view of Messi was obstructed by security personnel and invited guests positioned close to him.
As frustration mounted, some fans resorted to throwing chairs and bottles from the stands, forcing organisers to intervene and cut the programme short.
Event cut short amid disorder
Messi reached the venue around 11:15 am and remained there for roughly 20 minutes. He was expected to take a full lap of the stadium, but that plan was abandoned as the situation deteriorated soon after he emerged from the tunnel.
The disorder also meant that prominent personalities, including actor Shah Rukh Khan, former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, could not participate in the programme as scheduled.
Organisers whisk Messi away
With fans breaching security and some vandalising canopies set up at the Salt Lake Stadium, the organisers, along with security personnel, escorted Messi out of the venue to prevent further escalation.
Several attendees described the event as poorly organised, with some fans calling it an “absolute disgrace” and blaming mismanagement for spoiling what was meant to be a celebratory occasion.
Mamata Banerjee apologises, orders enquiry
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee later issued a public apology to Messi and the fans, expressing shock over the mismanagement. She announced the formation of an enquiry committee headed by retired Justice Ashim Kumar Ray, with senior state officials as members.
The committee has been tasked with conducting a detailed probe, fixing responsibility and suggesting steps to ensure such incidents are not repeated in the future.
Delhi enforces new law to regulate fees in private schools
Delhi has notified a new law to regulate private school fees, capping charges, banning capitation fees and mandating transparent, committee-approved fee structures.
The Delhi government has officially brought into force a new law aimed at regulating fees in private schools, notifying the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fee) Act, 2025. The notification was issued on Wednesday, nearly four months after the Bill was cleared by the Delhi Assembly and received approval from Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena.
The Act establishes a comprehensive framework to govern how private unaided schools fix and collect fees, with a clear emphasis on transparency, accountability and relief for parents facing repeated fee hikes.
What the new Act provides for
Under the legislation, private unaided recognised schools can charge fees only under clearly defined heads such as registration, admission, tuition, annual charges and development fees. The law caps registration fees at Rs 25, admission charges at Rs 200 and caution money at Rs 500, which must be refunded with interest. Development fees have been restricted to a maximum of 10 per cent of the annual tuition fee.
Schools have also been directed to disclose all fee components in detail and maintain separate accounts for each category. Any fee not specifically permitted under the Act will be treated as an unjustified demand.
The law strictly prohibits the collection of capitation fees, whether direct or indirect. It further mandates that user-based service charges must be collected strictly on a no-profit, no-loss basis and only from students who actually use the service.
Accounting norms and restrictions on surplus funds
To ensure financial transparency, schools are required to follow prescribed accounting standards, maintain fixed asset registers and make proper provisions for employee benefits. The transfer of funds collected from students to any other legal entity, including a school’s managing society or trust, has been barred.
Any surplus generated must either be refunded to parents or adjusted against future fees, according to the notification.
Protection for students and parents
The Act also places restrictions on punitive action by schools in fee-related matters. Schools are prohibited from withholding results, striking off names or denying entry to classrooms due to unpaid or delayed fees.
The law applies uniformly to all private unaided schools in Delhi, including minority institutions and schools not built on government-allotted land.
School-level committees to approve fees
A key feature of the legislation is the mandatory formation of a School-Level Fee Regulation Committee by July 15 each year. The committee will include five parents selected through a draw of lots from the parent-teacher association, with compulsory representation of women and members from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and socially and educationally backward classes.
A representative from the Directorate of Education will also be part of the panel, while the chairperson will be from the school management.
Schools must submit their proposed fee structure to the committee by July 31. The committee can approve or reduce the proposed fees but cannot increase them. Once finalised, the fee structure will remain fixed for three academic years.
The approved fees must be displayed prominently on the school notice board in Hindi, English and the medium of instruction, and uploaded on the school website wherever applicable.
The Delhi government had earlier described the legislation as a significant step towards curbing arbitrary fee hikes after widespread complaints from parents at the start of the academic session.
Residents across Delhi and adjoining areas woke up to dense smog on Saturday morning, with air quality levels edging close to the ‘severe’ category in several locations
Data from the Central Pollution Control Board showed the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 390 at 8 am, placing it in the ‘very poor’ category. However, multiple monitoring stations in the national capital recorded AQI readings in the ‘severe’ range.
Areas reporting severe air quality included Anand Vihar (435), Ghazipur (435), Jahangirpuri (442), Rohini (436), Chandni Chowk (419), Burari Crossing (415), and RK Puram (404). The high pollution levels were accompanied by a mix of smog and shallow fog, which reduced visibility in several parts of the city during the early hours.
Smog reduces visibility, health risks rise
As per AQI classification, readings between 401 and 500 fall under the ‘severe’ category, indicating serious health risks. Officials note that prolonged exposure at such levels can trigger respiratory problems even among healthy individuals, while those with existing conditions face higher risks.
Dangerous pollution levels have become a recurring concern in Delhi during the winter months. On Friday as well, a thick haze covered the city, with the overall AQI recorded at 386 and visibility remaining poor in several localities.
Delhi airport activates low visibility procedures
Amid the deteriorating air quality, Delhi airport issued an advisory stating that low visibility procedures were in place. In a post on X, the airport confirmed that flight operations were normal at present but advised passengers to stay in touch with their respective airlines for the latest updates.
Despite some marginal improvement over recent weeks, large parts of the capital continue to remain under a blanket of toxic smog. The worsening situation has also intensified political sparring over pollution control measures in the city.
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