No conclusive evidence to crash theory: Netaji’s grand nephew

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s family members appear to be  divided over the crucial issue of whether Bose died in a plane crash in August 1945, days ahead of the big day when PM Narendra Modi has promised to declassify secret Government files on Netaji (January 23). 

According to London based journalist Ashis Ray’s website www.bosefiles.info, the former Congress president was indeed on the Japanese Air Force bomber that crashed and led to Bose’s death from burn injuries in August, 1945. 

Ray is a grandson of Sarat Chandra Bose, Netaji’s elder brother and freedom fighter.

The details of the accident provided are based on depositions provided to an inquiry committee constituted by the Government of India in 1956, and headed by Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of Bose’s Indian National Army (INA), formed by various Indian nationalists during World War II. This includes the all-important witness of Habibur Rahman, Bose’s companion on the flight and INA leader.

However, the spokesperson of the Bose family in Kolkata, Chandra Kumar Bose( grandson of Sarat Chandra Bose and Subhas’s grand nephew) says that this death by air crash was officially refuted the Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry(set up by the Government of india) which submitted its report as late as 2006. 

“Why would the Government set up three inquiry committees on Bose if his death by air crash was proven by evidence? Ray is quoting witnesses like Habibur Rahman whom Bose had instructed to propagate the crash theory to make good his escape. Moreover, after visiting the crash site in Taiwan, Justice Mukherjee reported that there was no air traffic movement on that day from Taihoku airport. No other inquiry committee members visited the crash site except Justice Mukherjee. We agree with Mukherjee’s findings,” Chandra Kumar Bose told Millennium Post.

There are other reasons why over 50 members of Netaji’s family are going against the crash theory. 

A dissention report against the findings of the Shah Nawaz Committee’s findings was filed by none other than Netaji’s brother Suresh Chandra Bose. 

Secondly, Sarat Chandra Bose, after meeting Habibur Rahman in 1946, told his son Amiya Nath Bose that he did not believe Habibur’s statement that Netaji died of burns after plane crash. 

Also, the first two commissions of inquiry led by Shah Nawaz Khan and G D Khosla did not visit the crash site in Taiwan, which Justice Mukherjee did. 

“There is no conclusive evidence till date about where Netaji disappeared after August 1945 though. Neither the Russian angel nor the air crash theory can be proven yet. Hence the declassification of files on Bose is of supreme importance,” added Chandra Kumar Bose.