Gandhi then informed the Viceroy
that he was going to raid the government –run Dharasana Salt Works in Gujarat.
Lord Irwin decided to act. Two English officers with pistols, accompanied by
many Indian policemen armed with rifles, arrived at Gandhi’s camp in the middle
of the night.
They woke up Gandhi and said, “You
are under arrest.” Gandhi was taken to Yerawada Central Jail.
So Gandhi was not there at the time
of raid on the Dharasana Salt Works.
The salt deposits were surrounded
by barbed-wire fencing and protected by about 400 Indian policemen armed with
steel-short lathis. A few British officers were in command of them.
Gandhi’s volunteers halted some distance away
from the fencing. Then a selected group of them advanced towards the
barbed-wire fence. Police officials ordered the volunteers to disperse but they
ignored the warning.
Suddenly the police rushed at them
and rained blow after blow on the defenseless men. Not one of the volunteers
even raised an arm to stop the blows. They fell down, some with broken skulls,
some with broken shoulders, arms, or legs. The waiting crowd groaned.