CHIEF OF POLICE BOMBED

Taranaki Daily News, 27 August 1930, Page 9

CHIEF OF POLICE BOMBED

SHOOTS ASSAILANT DEAD CALCUTTA STREET OUTRAGE BOMB MISSES OBJECTIVE British Wireless. Bagby, Aug. 25. An attempt was made to day to kill Sir Charles Tegart, the Police Commissioner for Calcutta. - Two bombs were flung at his car as he was motoring to his office. They exploded in the road, wounding his chauffeur and damaging the car.

Sir Charles Tegart was unhurt and, leaping from the car, he drew his revolver and shot one of the assailants dead. Then he chased another of the assailants, who was captured by a police sergeant. A third assailant was wounded by the explosion. Sir Charles Tegart, whose age is 40, has been in the Indian police force since J 001. FRONTIER POSITION WORSE. FIERCE HAND-TO-HAND FIGHTING. By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright. Ree. 9.20 p.m. Delhi, Aug. 26. The situation on the North-west frontier, which appeared to be improving, has become worse during the week-end. A serious das'll occurred yesterday near Domei, in the Bannu district, between Government forces and a large armed force of Hathikhel Wazirs. A mixed, force of regular infantry, frontier constabulary and police left Bannu early this morning to prevent (he meeting of hostile tribesmen. Captain F. Ashcroft, of the Frontier Forces Rifles, was shot dead from behind, and fierce hand-to-hand fighting resulted in nine Indian soldiers being killed and ten wounded, while 26 tribesmen were killed and five wounded. Seventy were taken prisoner. GENERAL POSITION IN INDIA. DECLINE IN THE HOSTILITIES. British Wireless. Rugby, Aug. 25. In the weekly review by the Government of India on the situation in India it is stated that by August 19 the Afridi lashkar near Peshawar had dispersed, although a few small parties still remained in the district. Congress emissaries from British territory are, however, reported to have passed, up the Bara Valley to urge the Afridis to ■renew hostilities. About 3600 Afridis were preset at the usual Friday jirgs at on August 22 and an aeroplane fixing reconnaissance there was fired upon.. On the northern border of the Peshawar district the Haji of Turanzai and his emissaries have remained active among the Upper Mohmands and Utmen Khel. The jirgas of two sections of the latter tribe interviewed the deputy commissioner on August 16. They undertook to commit no more offences against the Government, to refrain from joining any hostile lashkar and to refuse passage to any hostile lashkar of other tribes. In view of this undertaking their 11 prisoners captured at Fallal were released.

It is clear that the Haji has met with a good deal of success among the upper Mohmands and possibly some part of the Utman Khel tribe and still has great hopes of . raising a lashkar to attack-the Peshawar district by way of Ghando, on the Kurram border. There was intensive bombing of the Massazzi and Para Chamjirga. The Chamkannie have come into Paraehinar to make overtures for a settlement. The agitation, however, has spread to other tribes. On August 19 Ahmadzal Ghilzai collected a lashkar on the Peiwar Kotal in the neighbourhood of Utsar and Bargaioisar and reconnaissance aeroplanes were heavily fired upon from these two points. Militia pickets in the upper Kurram were fired Utsa. Thanks to the excellent defensive measures adopted by the Kurram militia and village levies, together with successful measures adopted by the local Afghan authorities to restrain the tribes on their side of the border, the hostile tribesmen dispersed after a few days without further committing themselves. IMPROVEMENT IN PROVINCES. Provincial reports for the first fortnight of August continue to show marked improvement in most provinces. In Madras the number of breaches of the law and consequent prosecutions continues to fall. In Bengal the improvement has been so marked that it is possible to disarm, and the tendency is to return to normal conditions. There has been less picketing, particularly in Calcutta, and the movement generally has much weakened. A good sign in several districts is the increased attendance at school. The boycott of educational institutions seems to be failing. In the United Provinces the chief feature of the fortnight was the attack on educational institutions, from which Mohammedans, however, kept aloof. There has been very serious interference with studies at Allahabad, Benares and Lucknow Universities, but a recent report in the Press states that students have revolted in the first mentioned university against this interference with their future careers. Punjab records a definite and practically universal decline in Congress activities and that the movement is moribund. The situation in Bombay city is more stable, so far as law and order are concerned, but the economic conditions tend to deteriorate and more mills have been closed. This record of improvement must be qualified in certain respects. The boycott of foreign goods is still effective in many towns, and picketing, although on the decline, is etill practised to a considerable extent. Although, therefore, the situation in most provinces is distinctly easier, there is no province in which conditions are normal or in which it can be safely said that some activities of the civil disobedience movement may not assume fresh vigour. There has, fortunately, been a marked improvement in Sind, where the communal, situation wiflUreported last week to be serious. The position is now under controL . -