Hathazari formed as a thana (police unit) in 1929. The following year, Hathazari was the site of the historic Battle of Jalalabad which took place a few days after the Chittagong armoury raid. It was an encounter which took place between the Bengali revolutionaries led by Surya Sen and Ananta Singh against the British troops. Over 80 British troops and 12 Bengali revolutionaries were killed in the ensuing gunfight in atop the Jalalabad Hills. Sen dispersed his men to neighbouring villages in small groups and thus some escaped though many were arrested. The plan was elaborate and included seizing of arms from the armoury as well as destruction of communication system of the city (including telephone, telegraph and railway), thereby isolating Chittagong from the rest of British Raj.