Subhas Chandra Bose | Netaji indeed died in 1945, Brits probed plane crash thrice, says new book

After numerous reports and investigations, yet another book attempts at solving the mystery of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s death.

This time, the new book, which will be released on February 12, concludes that Netaji indeed died in 1956 plane crash in Taipei.

‘Laid to Rest: The Controversy over Subhas Chandra Bose's Death,’ by UK-based journalist Ashis Ray talks about how the then British government probed the plane crash three times. The British were deeply involved in the probe of ‘enemy’s’ death in the plane crash, claims the book.

The first-ever investigation by a British officer was led by T S Finney in 1945. ‘They categorically confirmed Bose had died as a result of an air tragedy,’ says the book.

Second inquiry was conducted on December 31, 1945 when the British authorities spoke extensively to Col Habibur Rehman, Netaji’s aide-de-camp, and the survivor in the plane crash.

Again in 1946, a British officer living in Tokyo conducted what is called the final inquiry into Netaji’s death. 

‘As a result of a series of interrogations of individuals it is confirmed as certain that SC Bose died in a Taihoku (Taipei) military hospital (Nanmon ward) sometime between 1900 hours and 2000 hours local time on August 18, 1945,’ Lt Col Figgess is quoted as saying by the book. 

The book also has the interview of Netaji’s daughter Anita Bose-Pfaff. Netaji’s daughter makes a strong case for a DNA test of the remains. ‘For most of those people who continue to doubt Netaji's death in Taihoku in August 1945, one possible option for proof would be a DNA test of the remains of Netaji - provided DNA can be extracted from the bones remaining after his cremation," Bose-Pfaff writes in the book's foreword.

"However, the governments of India and Japan would have to agree to such an attempt," she says.  "After all, some documents had not been made public at that time. When Sarat Chandra Bose died in 1950 he could still cling to the hope that his beloved brother had not died. And his belief also upheld Emilie's hope that her husband had survived," she says.

"However, as evidence became available from the mid-1950s, the only consistent story about Netaji's demise remains his death in a plane crash on 18 August, 1945," she writes in the book, which is being published by Roli.

"For me personally, this fact was brought home most strikingly when I had the opportunity to be present during the interview of one of the survivors of the plane crash by Professor Leonard Gordon in Tokyo in 1979," Bose-Pfaff adds.

(With inputs from PTI)