On June 24, 1757, with Bengal nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah defeated by Robert Clive of the British East India Company at the Battle of Plassey the previous day, Mir Jafar, Siraj’s follower who had betrayed him, reached Murshidabad, the Bengal capital. Siraj had reached Murshidabad earlier. He was captured by Mir Jafar’s men and was executed on July 2.
Clive arrived in Murshidabad on June 29. Mir Jafar received him in state at the Mansurganj Palace, Siraj’s seat. Clive placed Mir Jafar on Bengal’s throne, as the Nawab Nazim of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
According to an ac- count by Purna Chandra Majumdar, the British entered the vaults of the palace and found stored there Rs 17,60,000 in silver, Rs 23,00,000 in gold, and precious stones. The inner treasury contained Rs 8 crore. Clive went to the home of the Jagat Seths, rich merchants who had helped the British against Siraj, to pay the amount they had been promised, but Omichand, another rich merchant, apparently did not get any money.