The 102nd death anniversary of great freedom fighter Bagha Jatin was observed here on Sunday.
Apart from a Government girls’ school, it was observed at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH), the District Jail, Desuan Pokhari and Chasakhand, the places associated with the martyr.
Besides, rich tribute by the locals the Rakta Tirtha Yatris of West Bengal also paid tribute to the hero. Members of the Rakta Tirtha Yatris headed by Prabal Mukharjee attended the function in commemoration of the hero’s deed.
A meeting at the district headquarters town was presided over by Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Akshay Pani. Higher Education Minister and MlA Bhograi Ananta Das ,MP Rabindra Kumar Jena, MlA Sadar Jiban Pradip Dash, MlA Jaleswar Aswani Patra, MlA Basta Nityananda Sahu, BRIT Chairman Gour Kumar Rout and the delegates of Rakta Tirtha Yatri spoke remembering the heroic deeds of the Bagha Jatin.
Jatindra Nath Mukherjee , Bagha Jatin, was born in Jhenaidha district of Bengal in 1879. It is said that he came to be called ‘Bagha Jatin’ after killing a tiger single-handed and without any arms. Jatin, a man with a strong sense of self-respect and national pride, came in contact with Aurobindo Ghosh and his Anushilan Samiti.
During the freedom struggle, Baghajatin and four of his aides were one day waiting for a huge consignment of arms comprising 100,000 rifles and 6,000 pistols to arrive at Baleswar coast for an armed rebellion. The consignment didn’t arrive and they were chased by a police team headed by Charles A Teggart.
They entered Baleswar but their hideout was soon raided by the police. While one died instantly in the encounter that followed, two were hanged and the fourth was jailed. Baghajatin was critically wounded and soon succumbed to injuries in a hospital on September 10, 1915.