The Indian sepoys of the Native infantry Regiment, in Barrackpore, were appalled when they heard that the cartridges they bit into before loading their guns were going to be greased with cow and pig fat. It was an insult to their religious sentiments. The murmurings of dissent rose as the news spread but the British were insensitive to the reasons behind it. And then Mangal Pandey, a sepoy from the Native Infantry, fired the shot that triggered off the First War of Indian Independence.