‘Japanese govt report on Netaji says he died in plane crash’

From Aditi Khanna London, Sep 1 (PTI) A classified 60-year-old Japanesegovernment document on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s deathmade public today clearly concludes that the legendary freedomfighter died in a plane crash in Taiwan on August 18, 1945,backing the official version. Bosefiles.info, a UK website set up to document evidenceon the circumstances surrounding Netaji’s death, today saidthis is the first time the report titled ‘Investigation on thecause of death and other matters of the late Subhas ChandraBose’ has been made public because it remained classified byJapanese authorities and was kept a secret by the Indiangovernment. "The report was completed in January 1956 and submittedto the Indian embassy in Tokyo, but since it was a classifieddocument, neither side released it," the website says. The seven-page report in Japanese and a 10-pagetranslation in English reaches the conclusion that Netaji metwith an air crash on 18 August, 1945 and died at a Taipeihospital the same evening. "Immediately after taking off, the airplane in which he(Bose) rode fell to the ground, and he was wounded," thereport notes in its ‘Outline of the result of theinvestigation’. It further records that at "about 3.00 pm he entered theNanmon Branch of Taipei Army Hospital"; and that at "about7.00 pm he died". The findings also state that on "August 22, he wascremated (at the Taipei Municipal crematorium)". In a more detailed description of the incident, thereport says: "After the plane had taken off and risen about 20metres above the ground, one petal of the three-petaledpropeller of the left wing was suddenly broken, and the enginefell off. "The airplane, subsequently unbalanced, crashed intoballast piles, beside the strip of the airport" and "waswrapped in flames in a moment. "Mr Bose, wrapped up in flames, got off the plane;Adjutant Rahmin (Colonel Habibur Rehman) and other passengersexerted themselves to take his clothes off… his whole bodywas seriously wounded by burns." The Japanese government report on the death of Netaji,who was 48 years old then, backs the Shah Nawaz Khan-ledinquiry instituted by the then Indian prime minister, JawaharLal Nehru, which had investigated the matter later in 1956,according to a press release issued by the website. (MORE) PTIAK SAI AKJSAI