Mission Netaji members tender written evidence to Sahai panel

Lucknow: A day after Jayanti Rakshit, the grand-niece of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose appeared before the Justice Vishnu Sahai Commission of Inquiry, members of Mission Netaji – Anuj Dhar, Sreejith Panickar and Chandrachur Ghose – on Friday submitted written evidence to the Commission constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to ascertain the identity of Gumnami Baba alias Bhagwanji.
Later in the day, the Mission Netaji members along with Shakti Singh, Jayanti Rakshit and her husband Amiya Rakshit also called upon the UP Governor Ram Naik at Raj Bhavan.
Elaborating further about their statement (submitted to Justice Sahai panel), writer Anuj Dhar and member of Mission Netaji said, “The inquiry has a bearing on the larger controversy related to fate of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.” He further stated that material left by Gumnami Baba warrants close scrutiny, and oral evidence recorded by Mukherjee Commission may be considered.
When asked whether any forensic test of Gumnami Baba’s handwriting has been sought by them, the members of Mission Netaji replied in affirmative.
Stating that handwriting samples make for the best forensic evidence, Anuj said, “It is not scientifically possible for anyone to write in someone else’s handwriting in three languages for nearly three decades. The chances of DNA, fingerprint or other tests appear dim, and there are no known photographs of Gumnami Baba. Even the High Court observed that the Mukherjee Commission did not discuss “any evidence” or recorded a finding that five teeth found in Ram Bhawan sent for DNA test were of Gumnami Baba.”
Anuj and other members of Mission Netaji were also of the view that the controversy behind the identity of Gumnami Baba erupted with the claims that he was Netaji, and that he could not have been. Apart from these claims, only 5 other claims have been made over the years regarding the possible identity of Gumnami Baba. These include that Bhagwanji was one Krishna Dutt Upadhyay (a fugitive accused of murder); Bhagwanji was an Anand Margi; Bhagwanji was a CIA agent; Bhagwanji was a blind follower of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagwanji was a Netaji impostor, set up by the Intelligence Bureau
“The only way to ascertain the truth behind these claims is to summon before the Commission those who have made them. This assumes urgency in view of the fact that these people avoided both the High Court and Mukherjee Commission and are likely to dodge this commission as well,” Anuj remarked.