The end of Tipu was very shocking. First, Marathas razed his whole kingdom and burnt everything down. Then, the Maratha ally the British killed Tipu, his two sons and his associated in a very brutal manner.
In his account, Moor tells how the Marathas set ablaze the entire town of Santa Bednur (present-day Santhebennur, distt. Davanegere). In this instance, the Company soldiers had been travelling separately from the Marathas for more than a few days, and the Beydars (also termed Berad, Bedar, Beda and Ramoshi), military allies of Tipu Sultan, had been harassing the Marathas. The passage reads:
"We reached Santa Bednore in two hours, when we were alarmed by the appearance of a body of horse coming hastily toward us, which, although we supposed them Mahratttas, it was necessary to be on our guard against, and we drew up our party between a tank and a building, half a mile southward of the town. Two of our gentlemen, well mounted, rode up to them, and found they were the Bhow’s industrious foragers and looties, who presently came in crowds, and immediately began to plunder the town.
To the westward of the tank, open only to the east, is a building of the same extent as the square of the tank, flat roofed, supported by pillars, and from the flight view we had of it, appears to be of Mahommedan origin. Near it is a column of a single stone, but not, we think, so long in the shaft as those noticed in Baugoor and Naugmungul.
The town of Santa Bednore is of note in these parts, but neither extensive, nor, so far as we could judge, well built. A large gurry and bound hedge inclose the greater part of the town, but the Mahrattas quickly scaled the wall, and the place was in flames, before we lost sight of it."
The Marathas also ransacked the town of Erroor (present-day Hiriyur, near Chitradurga) after the town had paid ransom to the Marathas. The Bhau had promised protection to this town. The same fate befell Dooridoorg (the author could not identify this town) that was ‘plundered as usual by the Marathas’.
