188 G. N. Dutt —History of the Hntwa Raj. [No. 2, 
The news of the murder of Babu Basant Shahi and Mir Jumla 
having been reported to the authorities, two companies of Sepoys 
under Lieutenant Erskine, the 16th Battalion of Bengal Sepoys, who 
were then at a short' distance, immediatly set out in pursuit, but Fateh 
Shahi conducted his movement with such celerity that he had fled to 
his retreat of Jogini jungle with his booty before any information of 
his movements was received, Fateh Shahi had under him now a train¬ 
ed body of horsemen and matchlock men, and his followers had been 
swollen by the addition of Faltirs and banditti. The whole country 
was brought under contribution by him, and Lieutenant Erskine express¬ 
ed an opinion to the provincial council at Patna, that unless a body of 
troops were to follow and drive him out of the Jogini jungles, Fateh 
Shahi would prove a pest to the inhabitants around, and that there was 
so many entrances to this jungle that it would take at least a battalion 
of Sepoys to block them up and pursue the rebel with any prospect of 
success. The provincial council of Patua recommended in their letter, 
dated 14th June, 1775, to the Hon’ble Warren Hastings, Governor- 
General and Council of Revenue, that as Fateh Shahi had taken 
possession in the dominions of Nawab Asafuddaula of Oudh, and as 
it was not practicable to seize his person without the assistance of the 
Nawab’s faujdars in the Gorakhpur District, the Nawab should be writ¬ 
ten to through Mr. Bristow, the then British resident at the Court of 
Oudh, to render such assistance. Accordingly the Governor-General 
and Council wrote to the Nawab of Oudh and Mr. Bristow that the 
person found to be concerned in the murder might be apprehended. 
But though there was a seeming compliance with this request, nothing 
appears to have been definitely done for the arrest of Fateh Shahi. 
Lieutenant Hardinge then stationed at Baragaon (3 miles from the 
present Hutwa) was sent in pursuit with a body of Sepoys of the 5th 
battalion. His instructions were to co-operate with Syed Mahomed, the 
Faujdar of Gorakhpur, for the arrest of Fateh Shahi, and on no account 
to act as principal. Lieutenant Hardinge and his detachment remained 
for seven days in Syed Mahomed’s camp in hourly expectation of coming 
into close quarters with the rebel, and when Hardinge persuaded the 
Syed to march within a hundred and fifty yards of the rebel entrench¬ 
ments, thinking that an effort to seize the rebel would then be inevitable, 
Syed Mahomed’s troops stopped short, and would not advance a yard 
towards the jungle. At this juncture, Hardinge received a message 
from the Syed telling him that the attack would be deferred till the 
next morning. It was afterwards found that Syed Mahomed was 
then engaged in settling his revenue matters with the rebel and Lieute¬ 
nant Hardinge, thinking that his instructions were to assist in the 
