Baroda dynamite case is the term used for the criminal case launched by the
Indira Gandhi government in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
during
the Emergency against the opposition leader
George Fernandes
George Mathew Fernandes (3 June 1930 – 29 January 2019) was an Indian trade unionist, statesman, and journalist, who served as the 22nd Defence Minister of India from 1998 until 2004. He was a member of Lok Sabha for over 30 years, starting f ...
and 24 others.
The
Central Bureau of Investigation charged George and others of smuggling dynamite to blow up government establishments and railway tracks in protest against
state of emergency. They were also charged with waging war against the state to overthrow the government. The accused were arrested in June 1976 and imprisoned in
Tihar Jail
Tihar Prisons, also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram, is a prison complex in India and the largest complex of prisons in South Asia. Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, Government of Delhi, the prison contains nine central prisons, and is one ...
,
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
.
The other prominent accused included
Viren J. Shah, G.G. Parikh, C.G.K. Reddy,
Prabhudas Patwari, Devi Gujjar and Motilal Kanojia. The case was tried in Delhi, as the CBI argued that even though the site of the incident was
Baroda
Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...
, the case had national ramifications.
Fernandes fought the 1977
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...
election from
Muzaffarpur
Muzaffarpur () is a city located in Muzaffarpur district in the Tirhut region of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur district and the Muzaffarpur Railway District. It is the fourth ...
in
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
while in jail under trial in the case. He swept the polls, with his supporters campaigning with his photo in prison cage and chains.
Janata Party
The Janata Party ( JP, lit. ''People's Party'') was a political party that was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian Nati ...
withdrew the case on coming to power in 1977 and all accused were released.
Snehalata Reddy was an Indian actress. Snehalata and her husband participated in the anti-Emergency movement.
Snehalata was a close friend of George Fernandes and was arrested on 2 May 1976. She was arrested for being a part of the Baroda dynamite case; however, while George Fernandes and many others were made accused in the case, Snehalata's name was not on the final charge-sheet. Even so, she was kept as a prisoner, where she was regularly tortured and was confined to live in inhuman conditions in prison at
Bengaluru. When later her health deteriorated, she was released on parole on 15 January 1977. But she died five days after her release on parole due to chronic asthma and lung infection on 20 January 1977, being one of the first martyrs of the Emergency.
References
External links
The Emergency (India)
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