Netaji died in the airplane crash, according to first two government report.
In April, 1956, the government of India, in response to the public demand, appointed an inquiry committee consisting of Sarvashri Shah Nawaz Khan, Suresh Chandra Bose (elder brother of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose) and S. N. Maitra, formerly chief commissioner of Andman and Nicobar, to ascertain the circumstances concerning Netaji's alleged death in an air crash. two members of the committee (Shah Nawaz and S. N. Maitra) came to the conclusion that Netaji was indeed died in an air crash at Taihoku on 18th August, 1945, while Suresh Chandra Bose was not agreed with this report and submitted dissenting report. The Majority report was accepted by the government.
The controversy over
the disappearance of Netaji was, however not resolved and demands continued to
be made for undertaking another inquiry into matter, because of the rumours and
his subsequent appearance elsewhere cropped up repeatedly. In response to the
demands of fresh inquiry, in July 1970 G. D. Khosla, retired chief justice of
Punjab High court, was appointed as a one man commission to look into the
matter. The commission visited Japan, Burma, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia,
South Vietnam and Formosa(Taiwan) and examined 224 witnesses including 100 who
were examined abroad. A large number of files and documents were produced and
cited in evidence, The commission submitted its report on the 30 th
June, 1974. The commission arrived at the same conclusion that was reached by
the Shah Nawaz Khan Committee in 1956 that Netaji died in an air-crash at
Taihoku on 18th August, 1945. The main conclusion reached by the
commission in its inquiry are, in brief as follows:
1. On the morning of 16 August 1945,
Netaji left Singapore accompanied by a few colleagues and others and arrived at
Bangkok at 3.30 P.M. and spent the Night there, At about 8 am on 17, Netaji
left by two planes and reached Saigon at 11 am. The Commission examined, among
others, 8 witnesses who accompanied Netaji in his journey up to the Saigon.
These include (1) Hachia who was deputed by Japanese Government to assist
Netaji as Minister of the provisional Government of free india. He remained
with Netaji till August 17, (2) Nigeshi, another official of the Japanese
Government who delivered the letter containing the terms of surrender to Netaji
at Saramban, accompanied him to Singapore and remained with him till the
morning of 17 August and (3) a General, who was the Chief of the Hikari Kikan,
Liaison agency of the Japanese Government with the Azad Hind Government. He
Joined Netaji at Singapore and went with him up to Saigon. The others were S.
A. Iyer, Gulzara Singh and Ahid Hasan who were members in Netaji's Provisional
Government besides Debnath Das and Col. Pritam Singh who were close confidants
of Netaji. There were some difficulties in making transport arrangements for
Netaji and his party beyond saigon. Only two seats were offered to him in Japanese
bomber which had come from Manila and was going to Dairen in Manchuria. After
some discussion Netaji decided to avail himself of the two seats and left
Saigon by the bomber plane at approximately 5 pm on 17 August, along with his
associate Habibur Rehman. The plane arrived at Tourain at 7:45 pm and the party
spent night there. Next day, the bomber left Tourain and arrived at Taipei in
Formosa at 2 pm. At Taipei the pilot attended to a snag in one of the engines
which he declared had been corrected after short while. The passengers
accordingly boarded the flight and pilot took off at 2.35 pm. Within a few
seconds, one of the engines flew out and the plane crashed near the fringe of
the Taihoku airfield. The body of the plane broke into two parts and caught
fire. Netaji had sustained burn injuries of the third degree in the air crash.
He was rushed to the Military Hospital where, despite the efforts of the
doctors to revive him, he succumbed to the injuries the same night. The
commission examined, among others, four witnesses who claimed to have
travelled in the ill fated bomber plane with Netaji on 18 August,
including Navigator of the plane. The testimony of these 4 eye-witnesses was
corroborated by all other witnesses before the commission. Among the corroborating
witnesses was Dr. Yashimi who was acting as the chief of the Branch hospital at
Taihoku Army Hospital, who claimed to have been present when Netaji died and to
have signed his death certificate. The Commission has concluded that the
numerous story about the meetings of other person with Netaji at various places
and times after 1945 are completely false and unacceptable.
2. The Commission has thus arrived at
the same conclusion that was reached by the Shah Nawaz Khan."
It looks clear from
these report that Netaji really died in the air crash, but wait, this is not
the complete picture, because if it were so than there would have no need for
the appointment of third Commission i.e. Mukherjee Commission to look into the
matter and in fact his report was complete opposite of previous two. Mr. Suresh
Chandra Bose, one of the member of enquiry Commission, and many other opposes
Shah Nawaz credentials for being the head of Commission as he was against
the Netaji and loyal to the Britishers (according to book 'Red-Fort trial'), so
his report not trusted by all, in fact Mr. Suresh Chandra Bose prepared a
separate dissentient report, concluding that there was no aero-plane crash and
consequently no death of Netaji from it. In his report he has cited many
incidence as to how witness and evidence were manipulated and how Shah Nawaz
was working to prove his firm belief of Netaji's death in plane crash. On
the other hand, Samar Guha, a Indian independence movement activist and close
associate of Bose, raised various points, regarding the discrepancies in the
Khosla Commission report, in his speech in the Lok Sabha on August 3, 1977.
Next post will be dedicated to the discrepancies in the Shah Nawaz Commission
report and why it was not accepted by all except government.
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