During the Great Revolt of 1857, the Indian soldiers working under the British also rose against their white superiors. In places like Lalitpur district, the uprising began a little late. As the British troops saw the situation around Awadh get out of their control, they took measures in Lalitpur beforehand to ensure that no agitations occur.
Despite all measures, the sepoys broke out into unrest. They declared Bahadur Shah Zafar as their leader and warned the British officers to leave. The attack took the European soldiers under Captain Gordon’s leadership by complete surprise and they were forced to retreat. Expecting the local ruler, the Raja of Banpur to help them, Gordon invited him. Inspite of Gordon’s attempts to subdue the sepoys, they compelled the former to leave his control of the district and hand it over.
Understanding the conniving colonial way of capturing areas, the sepoys in Lalitpur used their strategy to fool their European superiors and gain an upper hand.
Source: Indian Culture Portal