NATIONALISTS GAOLED

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17236, 16 April 1930, Page 5

NATIONALISTS GAOLED

THE UNREST IN INDIA severe rioting follows (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.J DELHI, April 15. Two prominent Nationalists, Jawarapial Nehru, president of the Indian Nationalist Congress, and jjengupla, Mayor of Calcutta, were, each sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for violation of th-3 salt laws and reading publicly extracts from seditious literature. Negru, who will be, treated ns an ordinary political prisoner, was appointed by Gandhi to act as congress president in tils stead. Savage rioting in several parts of Calcutta broke oui- to day as a result of a “hartal’’ or day of protest m connection with the arrests of .lawaraplal Nehru and Sengupla. Two trams were set afire and three others wrecked. The fire brigade was stoned by a mob and several firemen were gravely injured in a main thoroughfare of the city. A crowd of rioters hurled stones at the trains and passing cars which Europeans were driving and the police later were forced to open fire. The casualties are at present, unknown. Auxiliary forces with armored cars were called out and are patrolling the streets, which were practically deserted at noon. In other parts of the city, traffic was held up by jeering crowds, who dislocated the tram service by cutting the wires. STATEMENT IN COMMONS ADEQUATE PRECAUTIONS (P.ritlsn Official Wireless.) Rec. 10 a.m. RUGBY, April 15. Questioned regarding the civil disobedience movement in India, Mr. Wedgewood Benn said in Parliament that the movement initiated by Ghandi bad developed generally along the lines anticipated. Broadly speaking, it might be said that the defiance of the salt law had in itself not caused much trouble, its real significance, lay in the attempt to use it as a means of rousing public sentiment to a dangerous pitch, and in one or two places a public demonstration bad, he regretted to say, resulted in clashes with the police. It was too early yet to give an appreciation of the effects of the campaign, but- he had every confidence that the steps taken by the Government of India will be adequate to deal with the situation as it might develop,