RIOTING IN BOMBAY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 10 August 1942, Page 5

RIOTING IN BOMBAY

POLICE FIRE ON CROWDS SEVERAL KILLED AND WOUNDED MORE ARRESTS MADE (Rec. noon) London, Aug. 9. The Indian Government has baned the All-India Congress Committee, the Congress Working Committee and all Provincial committees. A communique isued at Bombay states that 149 persons were arrested by five in the evening. Nobody is known to have been killed in the firitig but several are stated to hav< been wounded. Reuter's correspondent at Bombay estimated that five were killed and 20

wounded by bullets in 20 city localities, and 35 were injured by stones including 15 police. A Government spokesman commenting on the arrests said: "There was bound to be repercussions. We can hardly expect to avoid some disorder and clashes with the police, but at least these are minimised by the single

police swoop against the whole committee. Individual arrests would have probably meant a series of separate hartels. We intend to reduce the ti v.ble as much as possible by this concerted action. The British United Press corresponddent at New Delhi reports that Congress circles stated that the arrests would not halt civil disobedience and a rising tide of incidents can be expected throughout India. To-day's arrests are expected to total several hundred and are likely to continue for a week. The arrests are officially described £s preventative, not punitive.

MRS GANDHI DETAINED

All the members of the Working Committee who attended the recent meeting of the All-India Congress Committee have been arrested. Mrs Gandhi and Gandhi’s British disciple Miraben (Miss [Madeline Slade), have also been de- | tained. j Gandhi has been interned in a private I bungalow at Poona known as Aga Khan j palace. Police at Patna locked up the local office of the All-India Congress Committee and arrested the Speaker of the United Provinces Assembly, also Dr. Rajendra PrasaJ, a memfc of the Congress Working Committee and a formerpresident of Congress. Congress offices at New Delhi were raided and several a. e:' made on thi emises. A number of Congress leaders arrested at Bombay included the mayor o: Bombay, Me. Ali. Only one British member besides the Viceroy presen .vhen the Viceroy's Counc'l decided t<~ make the arrests. The other eleven members were Indians.

MOSLEM LEADER’S APPEAL

Mr Jinnah, president of the Moslem League, appealed to Moslems to keep completely aloof from the Congress movement until the Moslem League Working Committee reaches its decisions next Sunday. He also warned Congress Party members not to inter fere with, molest, harass or picket Moslems. Hindu shopkeepers in New Delhi ai'e closing. One-third of New Delhi’s shops are shut. Moslem shops are still open. A curfew is being applied to unruly areas to-night. The assembly of more than four persons is prohibited and carrying of weapons banned. Although many crowds in Bombay were dispersed by tear gas, also by mild lathi charges, crowds continued to collect and stone buildings and trams and buses. (Lathi is a bamboo pole about six feet long.)

CROWDS DISPERSED

A later message from Bombay reports that crowds in many areas are stopping traffic. Many abandoned convey ances and walked. Mobile police squads are constantly dispersing crowds. Some shopping areas are completely closed. British and Americans were booed and shouts of “Quit India and Boycott British goods. Boycott American goods.” It is officially announced that two Government grain shops in Bombay were looted and buses set on fire. Police, especially European police officers, were assaulted.

POLICE FIRE ON CROWDS

The police fired on unruly crowds in five localities. Fifteen so far have beci sent to hospital with bullet wounds. The police fired on demonstrators in Bombay after stones and bottles were thrown. The shots were fired directly into menacing groups which refused to disband. The police put a cordon around the Bombay terminal railway station. One was killed and one injured when .

police fired on stone-throwers at Ahmadabad. An attempt was made to set fire to a police post. The Ahmadabad, Raipur and Khadia areas have a curfew imposed for seven days. A Congress flag salutation ceremony at the Congress Committeemarquees at Bombay had been announced for this morning, but long before volunteers had assembled the police took possession of the grounds and called on the gatherinf crowds to disperse. Repeated warnings r/et with no response, whereupon the police dispersed the crowd by baton charges and tear gas. The Bombay police this evening were still endeavouring to disperse the crowd in Shaviji Park, where Gandhi was scheduled to speak. Tear gas and lathis were repeatedly used.

GENERAL STILWELL AT NEW

DELHI (Rec. 12 noon) New Delhi. Aug. 9. General Stilwell has arrived by plane from Chungking.—P A.