Dhaka Anushilan Samiti
Dhaka Anushilan Samiti was a branch of the Anushilan Samiti founded in the city of Dhaka in November 1905. Initially a group of eighty under the leadership of Pulin Behari Das, it "spread like wildfire" throughout the province of East Bengal. More than 500 branches were opened, linked by a "close and detailed organization" to Pulin’s headquarters at Dhaka. It absorbed smaller groups in the province and soon overshadowed its parent organisation in Calcutta. Branches of Dhaka Anushilan emerged in the towns of Jessore, Khulna, Faridpur, Rajnagar, Rajendrapur, Mohanpur, Barvali, Bakarganj and other places. Estimates of Dhaka Anushilan Samiti's reach show a membership of between 15,000 and 20,000 members. Within another two years, Dhaka Anushilan would devolve its aims from the Swadeshi to the dedicated aim of political terrorism. The "Dhaka Anushilan Samiti" embarked on a radical program of political terrorism. It broke with the "Jugantar group" due to differences with Aurobindo's approach of slowly building a base for a revolution with a mass base. The Dhaka group saw this as slow and insufficient, and sought immediate action and result. It was responsible for a number of political assassinations, most notably the murder of D.C. Allen. However, it reached a temporary halt after the arrest and deportation of Pulin Das and the Barisal Conspiracy Case in 1913. Dhaka Anushilan decided not to participate in the German plot of World War I. After the war, it continued in its violent movement, and some of its members went on to form the Neo-violence group.
Anushilan Samiti
The CIDs of Bengal and the provinces of Eastern Bengal and Assam came into existence with the birth of the revolutionary movement led by the "Samiti". By 1908, political crime duties took the services of one deputy Superintendent of Police, fifty-two Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors, and nearly seven hundred and twenty constables. Foreseeing a rise in the strength of the revolutionary movement, Sir Harold Stuart (then Secretary of State for India) implemented plans for a secret service to fight the menace posed by the "Samiti". A Political Crime branch of the C.I.D. (known as the "Special Department") was developed in September 1909, staffed by 23 officers and 45 men. The Government of India sanctioned Rs 2,227,000 for Bengal Police alone in the reforms of 1909-1910.
By 1908 a "Special Officer for Political Crime" was appointed from the Bengal Police under whom worked the Special Branch of Police. This post was first occupied by C.W.C. Plowden and later by F.C. Daly. Godfrey Denham, then Assistant Superintendent of Police, served under the Special Officer for Political Crime. Denham was credited with uncovering the Manicktolla safe house of the "Samiti", raiding it in May 1908 which ultimately led to the Manicktolla conspiracy case. This case led to further expansion of the Special Branch in Bengal. The CID in Eastern Bengal and Assam (EBA) followed a similar course after being founded in 1906, with expansion from 1909 onwards. However, despite having funds available, EBA police's access to informers and secret agents remained difficult. In EBA, a civil servant by the name of H.L. Salkeld uncovered the eastern branch of "Anushilan Samiti", producing a four volume report and placing 68 suspects under surveillance. However the "Samiti" evaded detailed intrusion by adopting the model of Russian revolutionaries, so much so that Police were unclear till 1909 if they were dealing with a single organisation or with a conglomeration of independent groups. The visit of King George V to India in 1911 saw the introduction of measures to arm police better in Bengal and EBA. In 1912, the political branch of the Bengal CID was renamed Intelligence Branch, staffed with 50 officers and 127 men. The branch had separate sections dealing with explosives, assassinations and with Robberies. The branch came to be headed by Charles Tegart, who built up network of agents and informers to infiltrate the "Samiti". Tegart would meet his agents under cover of darkness, at times disguising himself as Pathan or Kabuliwallah who were a common feature in the streets of Calcutta at the time. Assisiting Denham and Petrie ably, Tegart led the investigation in the aftermath of the Dalhi-Lahore Conspiracy and identified Chandernagore as the main hub for the "Samiti". Tegart remained in Bengal police at least the 1930s, earning notoriety amongst the "Samiti" for his work, and was subjected to a number of assassination attempts. In 1924, Ernest Day, an Englishman, was shot dead by Gopinath Saha at Chowringhee Road in Calcutta, being mistaken for Tegart. In 1930, a bomb was thrown into Tegart's car at Dalhousie Square but Tegart managed to shoot the revolutionary and escaped unhurt. His efficient curbing of the revolutionary movement saw him earn praise from Lord Lytton and he was awarded the King's medal. In recognition of his efficiency, in 1937 Tegart was sent to the British Mandate of Palestine, then in the throes of the Arab Revolt. He advised the Inspector General on matters of security.