WHY THE CRASH-THEORY CRASHES

Justin Li, the Justice Mukherjee Commission Enquiry has categorically stated that no air-crash had taken place at or in the vicinity of Taihoku Airport on 18 August, 1945 or within several weeks on either side of that date. The Mukherjee Commission has rejected the Air-crash Theory of the death of Netaji. This is on the basis of the Taiwan Government's disclosure that there is no such record with them of any such air-crash on or around that date at Taihoku Airport. Moreover, the crematorium records near the site of the alleged crash do not corroborate the death of Netaji and merely record the death of a Japanese by the name Ichiro Okura who had died of a cardiac arrest not on 18 August but on 19 August, 1945. Thus, there are great doubts about the factual truth of the supposed air-crash and, although, Netaji's close associate and fellow passenger on board the ill-fated flight, Col. Habib-ur-Rahman, testified that Netaji had indeed died of third degree burns subsequent to the crash, it is strange that Habib himself had hardly been burnt by the same fire despite the fact that he had held the burning Netaji close to his body. The watch he showed to Sarat Chandra Bose in Kolkata as having been recovered from Netaji's body was square-shaped which was also queer for Netaji ever wore round watches. Also, Habib's uniform made of cotton had not burnt at all. All these set Sarat Bose thinking that Habib was merely echoing the instructions of his leader (Netaji) and was not coming out with the truth although he was, perhaps, purposefully giving little hints to Sarat, through the inconsistencies in his deposition before the latter's informal cross-examination, that Subhas was after all alive. Till his last days Sarat Chandra Bose, thus, held on to the belief that Subhas had not died in the reported air-crash and that is a very credible reason why we must also seriously doubt the narrative of the alleged air-crash death. I have said what I had to say. Now do apprise us, Justin Li, of the reason for your understanding that Netaji had in all probability died in the air-crash.