`Purani jail' in Gorakhpur bears testimony to hanging of hundreds of freedom fighters

Gorakhpur: During the 1857 revolt more than 300 Indians were hanged from a pakad tree in the campus of Raja Basant Singh castle. Tajwar Darakhshan, descendant of Sardar Ali and a resident of Saudagar Mohalla said, "Sarfaraz Ali, who was against the British government, started a movement against it.
He was a son of Husain Bhakhsan, who held a high position in emperor Akbar’s army.Sarfaraz Ali went to Delhi to participate in the revolt but could not get any support from Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Subsequently, he went to Begum Hazrat Mahal in Lucknow and started motivating people against the Britishers in Gorakhpur.”
Later, Sarfaraz Ali went to Nepal with his family and continued his movement from there. Unable to arrest him, the British government hanged all his neighbours, friends and relatives from the pakad tree inside the Raja Basant Singh castle, Tajwar informed. His tomb is inside Jama Masjid in Kathmandu, she said.
“When the Britishers came to power they changed the castle into a jai. The dilapidated structure of the castle, known as `Purani jail', can still be seen behind Saudagar mohalla in front of Lal Diggi power station near the bypass road.
(Dr. Tajwar Darakhshan has written a book on 1857 revolt and she has done research in history).