W. C. Rand, the chairman of the Special Plague Committee in Poona, who was hated for the harsh plague measures, was shot dead in 1897 by:

On 22 June 1897, Damodar Hari Chapekar shot dead W. C. Rand, the chairman of the Special Plague Committee in Poona, while his brother Balkrishna Chapekar shot Lieutenant Charles Egerton Ayerst.

Background:

• In the late 1890s, a severe outbreak of bubonic plague hit Bombay and Poona.
• The government formed a Special Plague Committee under Walter Charles Rand to control the epidemic.

The plague measures were very harsh:

• Soldiers entered homes, including the women's quarters and kitchens, to search for plague patients.
• People were forcibly taken to hospitals and segregation camps.
• Property was destroyed and homes were disinfected roughly.
• These measures hurt the religious and social feelings of the people, and caused great anger.

The assassination:

• On 22 June 1897, the night of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria, Rand and Ayerst were returning from a function at the Government House in Poona.
• The Chapekar brothers shot them; Ayerst died on the spot, and Rand died a few days later.

The Chapekar brothers:

• Damodar, Balkrishna and Vasudeo Chapekar were three brothers from Chinchwad, near Poona.
• They had formed a group for physical training and the defence of Hindu religion.
• Damodar was arrested, tried and hanged in April 1898.
• Balkrishna and Vasudeo were also hanged later, after they killed the Dravid brothers, who had informed against Damodar.

Results:

• Tilak, who had criticised the plague measures in "Kesari", was arrested and sentenced for sedition in 1897.
• This was the first political assassination of British officials by Indian revolutionaries in the 19th century.

In memory:

A film "22 June 1897" (1979) was made on the event; a memorial exists at Chinchwad.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Phadke, Kanhere and Dhingra were other revolutionaries.