Netaji’s kin, friends also snooped on

Kolkata: A declassified file contains a letter written by Netaji’s nephew Sisir Kumar Bose to his father and Netaji’s elder brother Sarat Chandra Bose in 1949 that he had information on Netaji going on air on a radio channel.

“Peking Radio announced that Subhas Chandra Bose would broadcast. The radio also gave details regarding the time and wavelength of the broadcast. The Hong Kong office tried to listen in according to the details but nothing could be heard. I have asked the guard to let me have further details if possible,” he had written to his father from London on December 12, 1949.

The letter was intercepted by Kolkata police’s intelligence bureau after a government order, according to the declassified files. Netaji’s grand-nephew Chandra Bose said they have seen in the files that 14 IB officers were tasked to spy on his father Amiya Nath Bose.

“Even Congress leaders close to Netaji and officials of the Indian National Army were tracked. We have found it from the files,” he said. “Why did the Indian government keep our family embers, who were reputed citizens and well-known personalities, under surveillance? We demand an inquiry into this,” he added.

Kolkata police commissioner Surajit Kar Purkayastha handed over two CDs containing the digitised files to Netaji Research Bureau chief Krishna Bose and Netaji’s grand-nephew Chandra Kumar Bose. Bose family members, however, complained that more than 100 secret files were still in the Centre’s custody.

In the afternoon, Ms Banerjee visited the museum and went through the original files. She later said: “What we have done is the beginning of a future so that all can know about the brave son of the soil who once selflessly fought for the independence of our country. But it is also painful that we are yet to know what happened to him exactly.”

Referring to the just-declassified files, Ms Banerjee said: “There are letters where some people said Netaji might have been alive after 1945 (when he reportedly died in a plane crash)... I did not get much time to go through the files. I have seen a bit of it, and I have seen letters which were intercepted even after 1945 and documents which indicated Netaji’s family was snooped upon,” she said.

Asked about her message to the Centre, she elaborated: “We want to know the truth. Why should not these files be declassified? Nowadays we always maintain accountability and transparency. Besides, declassification of the files has been the demand from all corners since the beginning. The truth should come out.”

Asked if attempts were being made to hide the “truth”, the CM said: “If there is nothing to hide, then why don’t you declassify them?” Ms Banerjee asserted if the “truth” comes out, it would neither jeopardise bilateral relations nor create any law and order problem. “These issues are a mere excuse. We can tackle law and order,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Centre on Friday remained non-committal over declassification of all files related to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose saying it was difficult to predict when to release all such documents.

“Some files were already declassified by the Central government and sent to the National Archive. However, a decision has to be taken on the remaining files whether to declassify them or not. I cannot say when it will be done,” minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju said.

On December 17, 2014, Mr Rijiju’s colleague, minister of state for home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary told Parliament that the ministry of external affairs was holding on to 29 files and the PMO still had 60 files related to Netaji.

Mr Chaudhary had also said that the MEA informed the home ministry that the information contained in these files is of sensitive nature and bringing this information in public domain at this juncture is not desirable from the point of view of India’s relations with other countries.