In a new twist to the controversy surrounding the disappearance of freedom struggle icon of india Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in 1945, a probe panel has concluded that he did not die in an air crash as concluded by earlier inquiry commissions, but the government begged to differ.
The Justice M.K. Mukherjee Commission concluded that Netaji did not die in an air crash on Aug 18, 1945, as is widely believed. It said that the ashes lying in Renkoji Temple in Japan are not those of Netaji.
The government, however, did ‘not agree’ with the findings of the panel, Home Minister Shivraj Patil told parliament Wednesday.
Minister of State for Home S. Regupathy tabled the three-volume report in parliament.
The commission’s conclusion was arrived at after nearly six years of probe that took it to Russia, Taiwan and Japan. Although the governments there cooperated with the probe body, it found no evidence to support the belief among a section of Netaji supporters that he was taken to Siberia and killed at the instance of the then Soviet leader Joseph V. Stalin.
The findings go against much of the conclusions, including the belief of Netaji’s daughter, Anita Pfaff, who believes that her father is no more and that it is time to leave behind the various theories and controversies and move on.
Associated with the Mukherjee probe, she said in an interview in January this year: ‘Unless some fantastically new evidence comes up, if I look at the evidence available to me, he did not survive.
‘I have been present at the interview of some of the survivors of the plane crash, including some Japanese officers, more than 20 years ago, and their story sounded quite consistent, credible and reasonable.’
The Mukherjee probe was set up May 14, 1999 under the Commissions of Inquiry Act to investigate the alleged disappearance of Bose at the height of World War II. The commission submitted its report Nov 8, 2005 and this should normally have been submitted to parliament by May 7.
The panel was the third probe body that upturned some of the findings of the two previous ones - headed by Shah Nawaz Khan, who served under Netaji in the Indian National Army (INA) and Justice G.D. Khosla.
The only conclusion that Justice Mukherjee agreed was that Netaji was no more - he would have been 108 years old now.
The Mukherjee Commission’s findings did not satisfy those seeking conclusive evidence and proof of the circumstances under which he disappeared or died. Among them has been the All India Forward Bloc, a constituent of the Left Front in West Bengal.
Subroto Basu, Netaji’s nephew and a Forward Bloc Lok Sabha member, said: ‘On the basis of this commission’s findings, I cannot perform ‘tarpan’ (last rites) of my uncle.’
He gave notice for a discussion in parliament. ‘Report is now before the people. It is clear that Netaji did not die in the air crash as the nation has been told since 1945. The government must give reasons for rejecting these findings,’ he told IANS.
Among the theories and claims that the Mukherjee panel rejected as ‘figment of imagination’ and ‘lacking in conclusive evidence’ was that he was ‘murdered’ in the Red Fort Aug 15, 1945, af
ter being arrested at INA’s training camp and brought home secretly from Singapore.
Another claim was that he was Swami Shradhananda living at Shoulmari Ashram and died in Dehradun in 1977.
Two other claims that the commission entertained, but rejected were that he died either at Sheopurkalan in Madhya Pradesh or Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh.
