It was heading for Allahabad. Around sixty English women and some twenty children were on board.
The native army had kept the river bank under vigilance. A gunner saw the boat through his binoculars, and rushed to His Highness Nanasaheb. He said: a boat full of English people is coming; as soon as it reaches Dhruv-ghat, we would fire a shell.
Nanasaheb said: If the boat is carrying women and children, we mustn't shell it. Let them pass unharmed. But fate had willed otherwise. When the boat approached Dhurv-ghat, a sand dune formed in its way, and it ran aground. The passengers panicked.
The gunners saw that boat had been stranded. They sent a message to Nanasaheb: You didn't give the order to shell, but now the boat is stranded in our territory, it's the will of Goddess Ganga. Now you must give the order.
Then they fired a shell into the boat. Store of gunpowder on the boat exploded. The fire killed everybody who was on board, save a few. Survivors were taken into custody.
Some more English women and children had been kept in the captivity at Brahmavart. They were taken out to the river every morning for ablutions. One of the English women was clever and scheming. She persuaded a low-caste woman attendant to dispatch a letter to Allahabad.
A guard saw the attendant woman picking up the letter. She was arrested, and taken to Nanasaheb. Upon flogging, she confessed. The native soldiers were peeved. Someone who could read English was summoned to read the letter. The letter said: Enemy is busy celebrating the capture of Kanpur. There are daily nautch, singing. The guard has slackened. The English troops should attack now.
The native soldiers said: Allow us to kill the English. Nanasaheb said: Killing women and children is not permissible.
Soldiers were livid. They rushed to the place where prisoners had been kept. Those butchers shot and hacked all the women and children to death.
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