Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c38.s6.7

v3.c38.s6.7

This treacherous plot recoiled on the heads of its parents.* Muhammad Beg disclosed it to Shafi. On 17th November he rode out of his camp for the purpose of meeting Latāfat and then going with him to be presented to the Emperor, while Shafi went elsewhere on the pretext of hunting, but kept his ears open for the pre-concerted signal. Near Khwājah Sarāi, on the south side of the Badarpur nāla, Latāfat, Pauli and Yaqub met Muhammad Beg, but Hamadāni made them all prisoners by a treacherous attack at the time of shaking hands. The European alone resisted and was wounded for his pains. The small escort of the three victims fled away from superior numbers, while the main body of their comrades, left behind in the imperial camp, could do nothing after the loss of all their leaders. Muhammad Beg quickly followed up his victory; he pushed a detachment on to Delhi (now left utterly defenceless) with orders to seize the houses and property of Latāfat and Yaqub. But Shafi's brother, who was with the Begam in the city, appropriated their property before the arrival of Hamadāni's men. "A tumult like that of Doomsday raged in Delhi that night."