Charles Johnson (died 23 September 1932) was a Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) of Indian Imperial Police in the Bengal Presidency of British Raj during the early 20th century. Johnson, known for his cruelty and his torture methods, was assassinated by Anushilan Samiti leader Pritilata Waddedar in 1932.
Biography[]
Charles Johnson was born in England, and he was later hired by the Indian Imperial Police, moving to Chittagong in the Bengal Presidency to become a police officer under Magistrate Barry Wilkinson. Major Johnson was known for his cruelty, and he often tortured suspected Indian independence movement revolutionaries. In 1929, he tore out some of Surya Sen's fingernails while attempting to interrogate him about his plans to attack a British Army base, and he shot Sukhendu Guha after Guha played a prank on Johnson as he rode on a motorcycle down a jungle road. Magistrate Wilkinson requested Johnson's transfer, but he was promoted to Deputy Inspector-General (DIG), which angered many Indian students, who saw his promotion as a reward for Guha's murder. In 1930, he failed to discover the Chittagong armory raid, and he also failed to destroy the Indian Republican Army, losing several men in a battle on the Jalalabad ridge. For two years, Johnson and his police searched for Sen and several other Anushilan Samiti leaders, with Ahsanullah Khan and Johnson torturing captives such as Subodh Roy. He managed to kill Nirmal Sen in a raid on his hideout, and Nirmal's lover Pritilata Waddedar resolved to attack the European Club in Chittagong to kill Johnson and his men. Waddedar stormed into the club as Johnson spoke to the officers and their wives about his tactics in fighting the insurgents, and she shot Johnson dead with a revolver before being severely wounded in the ensuing shootout.