French report on Netaji: Grand-nephew turns heat on Centre

After a Paris-based historian claimed that freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose did not die in the air crash of August 18, 1945, Netaji 's grand nephew Chandra K. Bose has asked the Centre as to what is preventing them from forming a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to solve "India's biggest cover-up".

"The French report clearly indicates and there are many other pieces of evidence that clearly indicate that Subhash Chandra Bose did not die in the Air crash. So, what is preventing the present Central government to form a Special Investigating Team? We have been demanding this since January 2016," Chandra K. Bose told ANI

Appreciating Prime Minister Narendra Modi Government for declassifying Netaji's files, he said, "We must give credit to Narendra Modi government for declassifying all files starting 23 January 2016.......But the need of an hour is to form SIT who would take up the assignment from Justice Mukherjee left....the government of India has to take a holistic approach otherwise we cannot solve India's biggest cover-up, the disappearance of Netaji."

"This is a very critical report that the French authorities have revealed which again proves that there was no air crash in Taihoku on the 18th of August 1945. Now we don't have to really go to France to find out the truth about the liberator of India. The Justice Mukherjee commission, in 2006 had clearly stated based on their research and finding that Subhas Chandra Bose did not perish in any air crash," he added.

Bose also questioned the Central government as to why are they are not accepting the findings of Justice Mukherjee commission report.

"The Congress party, the UPA government in 2006 rejected the findings of the Justice Mukherjee commission due to political reasons because they were not able to accept the truth about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. But the NDA government has no such restriction. So, why the NDA government is not placing the Justice Mukherjee commission report in both houses of Parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for a thorough discussion," he said.

The Paris-based historian J B P More, who recently stumbled upon a brief French secret service report dated December 11, 1947, at the National Archives of France, has come up with a finding that Bose didn't die in an air crash and was still alive in 1947.

The gist of the matter for the French secret service, according to More, is that Bose did not die in the air crash on August 18, 1945, as commonly held.

"But he escaped from Indochina alive and his whereabouts were unknown as late as December 11, 1947," reports the secret document.

Last year, both India and Japan declassified files relating to the leader whose disappearance 70 years ago still remains a mystery, with historians and family members challenging the official version citing lack of proof. Even before Independence, the Figgess Report in 1946 concluded that Netaji died in a plane crash in Taipei on August 18, 1945.

-ANI