Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page 116
Malf uza t - English translation of Urdu Volume 8 116 effort to solidify the case against me. The case was heard by Captain Douglas, the Deputy Commissioner of Gurdaspur, who is now perhaps posted at Simla. 1 The case was fully arranged before him, and all the witness testimonies against me were produced with great pomp and fanfare. In such a situation and atmosphere, not even the most discerning jurist could have said that I would be acquitted. The demands of time and the circumstances were such that I would have been handed over to the Sessions Court to be hanged or sentenced to life imprisonment. However, just as God Almighty had informed me about the case beforehand, so too had He revealed to me in advance that I would be acquitted. Accordingly, a large group of my Jam a ‘at members knew about this prophecy. When the case reached this stage, and the prosecution and my opponents thought I would now be handed over to the Sessions Magistrate, he [Captain Douglas] told the Police Captain that he had a feeling that the case was fabricated. His mind could not accept that such an attempt had actually occurred and that the defendant sent someone to mur- der Dr Clark. He directed him [the Police Captain] to reopen the investigation. That was a time when my enemies were not only constantly engaged in plotting every kind of scheme against me, but those who boasted acceptance of their prayers were engrossed in prayers, weeping and wailing that I be found guilty and be punished, but who can oppose God Almighty? I am aware that some people had even approached Captain Douglas to influ- ence him, but he was a magistrate who loved justice. He told them he could not be a party to such corruption. In short, when the case was entrusted to Captain Le Marchand for re-investigation, he summoned ‘Abdul- H am i d 1. Al- H akam, vol. 10, no. 33, p. 4, 5, dated 24 September 1906