LAHORE: The first ever exhibition of the case file of Bhagat Singh trial, called the Lahore Conspiracy Case, opened here at the historic Tomb of Anarkali in the Punjab Civil Secretariat on Tuesday.

Additional Chief Secretary Umar Rasool, who took the initiative to exhibit the case file at the official level, inaugurated the exhibition in the presence of government officials, teachers and students of the National College of Arts and other institutions.

The Tomb of Anarkali is the main storehouse of Punjab archives department, and the case file is one of its best assets. The record of Punjab dates back to the Mughal period, also including archives of the Sikh and British eras.

The show, containing different important exhibits (prosecution proof against Bhagat Singh and his comrades) appeared to have overwhelmed the otherwise somber ambiance of the tomb which was turned into a church and later the archives department by the British rulers after they annexed Punjab in 1849.

At the venue, legendary Khan Abdul Karim Khan`s thumri in Raag Jhinjhoti `Piya Bin Chain Na Awat,` which he rendered in 1929, was being played in the background, adding to the historic value of the place.

Bhagat Singh, Sukh Dev and Shivram Rajguru were executed in Lahore on March 23, 1931. The bodies were cremated and the ashes were thrown in the River Sutlej the same day in extreme secrecy to avoid any public reaction. The world came to know about the hangings through Maulana Zafar Ali Khan`s Zamindar two days later.

Bhagat Singh, a Sandhu Jat, was born in 1907 to Kishan Singh and Vidyavati at Chak No 105 GB, Banga Village, Jaranwala Tehsil, Lyallpur (Faisalabad). His two acts of revolt against the British in India and execution at the age of 23 made him a hero. The exhibits include cuttings of the newspaper from Lahore, Vir Bharat (1930), which supported Bhagat Singh`s attempts to incite revolt against the British. The cuttings transferred on huge flexes were affixed in the main hall.

Copies of different documents and books which Bhagat Singh used to study and were made a part of the case to prove his revolutionary mindset were placed in the side chambers on the ground floor and the first storey of the tomb.