After getting away from the D.A.V. hostel, the revolutionary group went different ways. Bhagat Singh shaved off his beard and got the hair cut at the room of an old friend. He borrowed pants and a hat from him. The friend knew all about the plot.
Bhagat confided, “I must get away from Lahore.”
The friend learnt that he had only 200 rupees on him. He gave one hundred rupees to Bhagat saying, “You will need it. I wish I could spare more. You know how hard pressed financially I am being a student.”
Bhagat Singh embraced him in thanks. He knew how difficult it was to part with a hundred rupees for a student. It was a great sacrifice.
It was decided to seek the help of Durga Bhabi, herself a revolutionary and the wife of a respected soldier of the Army, Bhagwati Charan Vohra who was himself living at Calcutta as the police was seeking him in ‘Meerut Conspiracy’ case. His wife was living in Lahore with their little son.
Sukhdev contacted her. She had to be called from a neighbourhood house where she had gone to learn some lesson from a teacher. She looked questioningly at Sukhdev.
He asked, “Can you go out of Lahore?”
“Where?…why??” She shot back puzzled.
Sukhdev explained, “Some one is to be smuggled out of Lahore to safety. You will act as his wife. The mission is very dangerous. Shooting possible. Can you take the risk? Think carefully.”
The revolutionary spirit in Durga Bhabi prevailed and she accepted the challenge.
Durga Bhabi’s Lahore house was infact a safe house for the revolutionaries on the run. For all the revolutionaries she was Durga Bhabi.
Sukhdev didn’t reveal who was to be smuggled out of Lahore. And Durga Bhabi didn’t ask as per rules of the organisation.
Sometime later a tall fellow in overcoat and felt hat arrived. He had a servant in tow. Durga Bhabi looked carefully and recognised Bhagat, and the servant as Rajguru.
It was decided that they would leave Lahore for Calcutta by morning Calcutta Mail. Durga Bhabi had one thousand rupees which her husband had given her for emergencies.
They reached the railway station posing as an Anglo-Indian couple. Rajguru carried their luggage and some files to create an impression that the Anglo-Indian saheb was some high ranking government official. All the exit points from Lahore were crawling with policemen and secret police.
Bhagat Singh had his collar raised to hide his face and his hat was tipped over to shadow upper part of the face. In his arms he held 3 year old son of Durga Bhabi close to his face covering left cheek with his head. Durga Bhabi walked along as the dolled up wife of the Saheb. Rajguru followed them like obedient servant. Bhagat went to the counter and bought a first class coupe ticket.
The police didn’t suspect and they got away.
Chandra Shekhar Azad and his comrades had boarded the same train in the guise of Pandas of Mathura. Azad masqueraded as Panda guru with ‘Ram-Ram’ printed gamchha slouched over his shoulders, Geeta and Kamandal in his hands.
It was a perfect Panda party. A Panda guru going to Mathura with his chelas (disciples).
The police had no reason to suspect them.
Thus, the assassins successfully gave a slip to the police dragnet.
A 40 hour train journey took Bhagat Singh and company to Howrah Railway Station of Calcutta. There they were received by Bhagwati Charan Vohra and his sister Sushila. They had been informed by wire. Bhagwati Charan congratulated his wife for her daring act. Bhagat Singh and Durga Bhabi stayed at a hotel as a couple to continue the charade to shake off the police if any of them was in pursuit.
Later, Sushila arranged their stay at a Kothi of a merchant whose daughter she used to teach. The irony was that the merchant, Sir Chajju Ram was a trusted man of the British. But his wife was a patriotic woman sympathetic to revolutionaries. She was taken into confidence.
During his stay at Calcutta, the Congress session was also held under the chairmanship of Pt. Motilal Nehru. Bhagat Singh attended the meeting in the guise of a Bengali inspite of the fact that the police was keeping a close watch on the session. The Congress meet thoroughly disappointed Bhagat. He felt that Congress was back tracking on the issue of total freedom and that it was foolish to depend on Congress to win India independence. His conclusion was that only armed challenge to the British can send them packing to their homeland.
He now met Bengali revolutionaries and the anti-British militants. He even opened there a temporary branch of Hindustan Socialist Republic Army.
A well known revolutionary leader Pratulla Chandra Ganguly was mightily impressed with Bhagat. He approved of Bhagat’s plans and ideas. He even lent Bhagat his pistol as a token of appreciation.
Pratulla Ganguly arranged a safe home for him as he felt that Bhagat’s prolonged stay at the kothi of a British stooge was dangerous.
Bhagat Singh had drawn a ‘Bomb Plan’. He was getting restless to implement it. Finally, itching for action he left Calcutta to join hands with Chandra Shekhar Azad.
In Calcutta he had befriended a man named Yatindra Nath who was an expert in bomb making. He had agreed to help H.S.R.A. To put his expertise to good use Bhagat Singh hired two houses at Agra. Azad had reached there to join his forces.
In one of the houses bomb manufacturing unit was set up. In the other house a workshop was opened to teach the young men of H.S.R.A. the art of making bombs and gun powder. The young men trained there later went to their respective areas and set up secret bomb making units. This second house was also used for meetings of the organisation to discuss the plans and programmes.
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