They were in charge of 40 boats carrying British women and children to safety from Kanpur, most of which were shelled and capsized.
A dozen of them swam ashore and hid till dark among the trees. At night they ventured out to locate their boat but it had drifted away. They locked themselves in at the Dhaundiya Kheda Shiva temple.
When villagers saw the trampled flower beds near the temple and the idols outside, they tried to torch the shrine. The besieged broke out waving their guns. Several persons were shot dead in the combat.
