Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c25.s5.9

v2.c25.s5.9

Near the jhil of Masaudabad (Najafgarh) the despairing heir to the throne was visited by Vital Shivdev, a lieutenant of Raghunath, whom he bribed to support his cause with his contingent (26 March.) The two proceeded to Khizirabad and thence to Patparganj. The news alarmed Imād, who sent a force under Bālābāsh Khan Badakhshi to bring the prince away in any way he could. A battle followed, in which many of the Badakhshis were slain and Bālābāsh fled away to the garden of Jugalkishor. This reverse utterly bewildered the wazir; in impotent rage he abused the Emperor as the secret instigator of Shah Alam’s disobedience. He put all the other princes in confinement within the fort and strictly forbade every communication between the palace and outside. “The Emperor remained a helpless and silent spectator of it.” In fear of an attempt to wrest Delhi fort from his hands with Maratha aid, the wazir brought Intizām-ud-daulah away from his mansion (30 March) and kept him under surveillance in the fort. Many other nobles were watched with similar jealousy, so that even Ahmad Bangash, the head of the imperial army, had to enlist new troops for defending himself against any coup intended by his friend and patron the wazir! He paid his official visits to the Court only under full escort. [TALS. 154b-158b.]