<P> On 12 May, Bahadur Shah held his first formal audience for several years . It was attended by several excited sepoys who treated him familiarly or even disrespectfully . Although Bahadur Shah was dismayed by the looting and disorder, he gave his public support to the rebellion . On 16 May, sepoys and palace servants killed 52 British who had been held prisoner within the palace or who had been discovered hiding in the city . The killings took place under a peepul tree in front of the palace, despite Bahadur Shah's protests . The avowed aim of the killers was to implicate Bahadur Shah in the killings, making it impossible for him to seek any compromise with the Company . </P> <P> The administration of the city and its new occupying army was chaotic, although it continued to function haphazardly . The Emperor nominated his eldest surviving son, Mirza Mughal, to be commander in chief of his forces, but Mirza Mughal had little military experience and was treated with little respect by the sepoys . Nor did the sepoys agree on any overall commander, with each regiment refusing to accept orders from any but their own officers . Although Mirza Mughal made efforts to put the civil administration in order, his writ extended no further than the city . Outside, Gujjar herders began levying their own tolls on traffic, and it became increasingly difficult to feed the city . </P> <P> News of the rebellion at Meerut and the capture of Delhi spread rapidly throughout India . Rumours and envoys from the rebels spread the tidings fast, and precipitated widespread rebellions and uprisings, but the Company learned of the events at Delhi even more quickly, thanks to the telegraph . Where the commanders of stations were energetic and distrustful of their sepoys, they were able to forestall some of the most dangerous revolts . </P> <P> Although there were several Company units available in the cool "hill stations" in the foothills of the Himalayas, it took time before any action could be taken to recapture Delhi . This was partly due to lack of transport and supplies . After the end of the Second Anglo - Sikh War, the Bengal Army's transport units had been disbanded as an economy measure, and transport had to be improvised from scratch . Also, many of the senior British officers were widely regarded as dotards, far too senile to act decisively or sensibly . </P>

Within a month of the capture of delhi the revolt of 1857 spread to
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