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One of the grimmest stories of the freedom struggle and counted among the initial momentous events of the 1857 Mutiny, the Siege of Cawnpore (present day Kanpur) took placein June 1857.

Sati Chaura Ghat on the banks of the River Ganges has been an important maritime boarding point from pre-colonial times.Over 300 Britishers, a majority of who were men, were murdered at the Ghatwhile they were trying to get to safety to Allahabad. As a result, the Ghat later came to be known as Massacre Ghat. The women and children who survived, and escaped the brutal fate that day were moved to the Bibighar. The advancement of the British troops towards Cawnpore, and reports of them torturing Indians along theway is said to haveprecipitated the Bibighar Massacre. To avenge these killings, Colonel Neill ordered his troops to resort to hanging of over 130 Indians taken as prisoners, on a Banyan tree.

Bibighar was also razed, and a memorial park was established. Post-independence, the memoral garden was renamed Nana Rao Park. The Banyan tree where these Indians were hung died, but a plaque was installed to preserve the memory of the events that occurred.