Cover-up Commissions

In every step where an attempt is made to unravel the conspirators behind the assassinations and killing, there is an attempt to subvert it and suppress it.

By the way will CPI-ML and others tell how often have the Commission's unearthed the truth? Why is CPI-ML and other political parties interested in the lies or half truths which Commission's give birth to?

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose continues to be in news 60 years after his disputed death. A BBC poll named Netaji the third most popular leader in South Asia after Jinnah and Gandhi. Netaji is supposed to have died at the end of Second World War. Netaji went missing while waging war for India's freedom and in heart of hearts all Indians wish to know what happened to him.

Nehru did institute the Shah Nawaz Khan Committee in 1956 after the Indian newspapers broke the news (based on agancy reports) on August 25, 1945 that Netaji had died in a freak plane crash in Taipei (Taihoku) on August 18th, 1945. Nehru's promptness is exemplary and worth emulation!

Shah Nawaz Committee was formed only after the Nehru Government was threatened that a non-official body headed by Justice Radha Binode Pal would be formed. "Several intelligence agencies set out to find the truth. PES Finney, a Deputy Director at the Intelligence Bureau (IB), led one such team from India. It was discovered, at the very outset, that the Japanese had tried to cover up something. The records of Bose's last movements had been systematically destroyed. But "secret" telegrams concerning the crash "had been deliberately left", the British averred, and "constituted part of the deception plan".

An IB report dated October 5, 1945 stated that a day before his "death", when "Bose arrived in Saigon, (Japanese) General (Saburo) Isoda was also there, and this fact may be significant if there was any plan on the part of the Hikari Kikan (Japanese military unit liaising with Netaji's Government) to allow Bose to escape, and to publish a false story regarding his death. This would have been the ideal place for Isoda to put into operation any such plan."

A November 6, 1945 report stated: "It is beyond doubt that he (Bose) had plans to go underground" and "the Japanese had undertaken to give Bose the necessary protection".

And on November 12, 1945 came a big surprise. (See image). Finney sent a report demolishing the claim by the Japanese and Habibur Rahman that Netaji was heading to Tokyo at the time of the alleged plane crash."

A powerless committee under the Ministry of External Affairs headed by Nehru was formed. Shah Nawaz Khan, one time INA man, was now a Congress MP and Parliamentary Secretary to the Railway Minister. A member of this committee, Netaji's non-politician brother Suresh Bose, later walked out saying he was being pressurised to sign on the dotted lines. Suresh Bose came up with his own report saying that there was no crash and Netaji escaped to the Soviet Russia.

G D Khosla headed the most notorious commission India has seen till date. Facts that have come before the Mukherjee Commission conclusively prove that Khosla, known confidante of Nehrus, aided the Indira Government in proving the crash theory. Both Shah Nawaz and Khosla proved that there had been a crash in Taipei without ever ascertaining facts from the Taiwanese authorities.

Indira Gandhi's government set up Justice G D Khosla Commission (1970-1974) upheld the findings of the Shah Nawaz Committee report, defeating the very purpose of its institution. Khosla was a friend of Nehrus to start with and he wrote the biography of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. G D Khosla was formerly Chief Justice of the Punjab High Court. He headed a enquiry without a terms of reference at the request of Government of India in a corruption case involving a Custodian of Evacuee Property, senior member of the Indian Civil Service and since the Custodian in question proceeded on leave, he was given complete charge of the department. He had come to hold an enquiry and now he was asked to run the entire show. In his perplexity, he met Mahatma Gandhi in October 1948 in Birla''s house on Albuquerque Road and took his suggestions. Four days after his meeting Mahatma Gandhi has been murdered. Khosla published a book “The Murder of The Mahatma and Other Cases from a Judge’s Note-Book” in 1963. Justice Khosla was the Sentencing Judge of Nathuram Godse and Apte , which he had attended in the Ambala Prison when they were hanged. He was also one of the three judges who heard the appeal against the conspiracy theory.

Prime Minister Morarji Desai had rejected the findings of the Shah Nawaz and G D Khosla Commissions. In 1977, in a debate was initiated by MP Professor Samar Guha in the Lok Sabha, Desai conceded that due to serious contradictions in evidence and contemporary official documents the Government thought the findings of these panels were not decisive. This has been the stand of the Government since then. That is, the Government of India doesn't think that Netaji died in 1945.

The third Justice Manoj Kumar Mukehrjee Commission of Inquiry into Netaji's disappearance was formed in April 1999 following an order of the Calcutta High Court over a Public Interest Litigation. In its order dated April 30, 1998, the court told the Union Government to "launch a vigorous inquiry ... as a special case for the purpose of giving an end to the controversy" surrounding Netaji's disappearance. The Court observed that "lapses have occurred from time to time" and "no serious effort in this behalf (Netaji's disappearance) has been made" by the Government.

The Government did not contest the court's order and consequently notified on April 14, 1999 that "the Central Government is of the opinion that it is necessary to appoint a Commission of Inquiry for the purpose of making an in-depth inquiry into a definitive matter of a public importance".

The Government did not want any inquiry in Taiwan, which is precisely what Justice Mukherjee did. Justice Mukherjee's January 2005 visit to Taiwan and his direct interaction with Taiwan Government yielded the disclosure that there was no evidence of any air crash in or around Taipei around 18 August 1945. No one knows as to why none of the previous enquiry committees visited Taiwan. The US State Department averred in June 1946 that there was no direct evidence of Bose's death. The British Government told the Commission that they would not declassify some papers on Netaji until 2021. It seems due to friendly relations with Indian Government, Russians have misled the Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry as well although there is clear evidence that there was no plane crash, the Commission made attempts to find out what happened to Netaji after 1945. Were Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and Indira Gandhi aware of it?

The report of Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry, probing the disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in August 1945 has been submitted to the Government and it is supposed to be tabled in Parliament along with the action taken report.

On 9th March 2006, K Rama Mohana Rao, a Member of Parliament asked the Prime Minister about the Justice Mukherjee Commission to which Anand Sharma, Minister of State for External Affairs replied, "Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry has submitted its report on 8th November 2005. As per the provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, the report will be tabled in both the Houses of Parliament in the current session."

Sharma further added, "The Embassy of India in Moscow, on the basis of instructions from the Ministry of External Affairs, provided maximum possible support to the Hon'ble Commission during their visit to Russia in September 2005. The Mission, with the help of the Russian Foreign Ministry, arranged visits to seven archives during the visit. Information gathered by the Russian government on the subject of the Commission were also procured by the Mission and given to the Commission, both before and after its visit to Russia. A Russian speaking diplomatic officer from the Embassy was attached to the Commission during its entire visit and the Mission also provided premises, secretarial, interpretation and other services. Due courtesies were also shown to the deponents who accompanied the Commission."

But where is report, has it been tabled or did it became a casualty of the office of profit controversy. Netaji disappeared in 1945 and we do not know here did he vanish after three Commissions about what happened to him. Can anyone who is sane still believe that the Commission will conclusively establish the truth?

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948. The Commission that was appointed to probe into Gandhiji's killing. In Nand Lal Mehta’s FIR recorded on January 30, 1948 at New Delhi’s Tughlak Road Police Station, there is no mention that any doctor was called. It is still debated that as to why he was not rushed to hospital and was instead taken to the Birla House where he died later. The FIR reads, “Narayan Vinayak Godse, resident of Poona, stepped closer and fired three shots from a pistol at the Mahatma from barely 2/3 feet distance which hit the Mahatma in his stomach and chest and blood started flowing. Mahatma ji fell backwards, uttering "Raam - Raam". The assailant was apprehended on the spot with the weapon. The Mahatma was carried away in an unconscious state towards the residential unit of the Birla House where he passed away instantly and the police took away the assailant.”

“The dead bodies (Godse and Apte) were cremated inside the gaol, the ground where the pyres had been erected was ploughed up and the earth and ashes taken to the Ghaggar river and secretly submerged at a secluded spot,” wrote Justice Khosla, one of the trial judges and the Sentencing Judge. Justice Jivanlal Kapur Commission was formed to investigate the Conspiracy to murder Mahatma Gandhi was set up in 1965. Why did it take so long to constitute a Commission? Did this Commission find out as to why was ashes of Godse and Apte submerged secretly?. Does the Commission refer to the certificates of the Doctors which certified him dead?

Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee who was a cabinet colleague of Nehru died under mysterious circumstances on 23 May 1953 while under illegal detention without a trial in a private home in Srinagar, Kashmir. On May 8, 1953 he boarded a train at Delhi Station. Significantly, the young Atal Behari Vajpayee was one of only four colleagues asked to accompany him. Atal Behari Vajpayee accompanied him leader to Pathankot, but did not go with him into the Valley. When he was proceeding to Kashmir in 1953 in order to go on a hunger strike on reaching there to protest against the law prohibiting any Indian citizen from settling in that State (which was in their own country) and the need to carry I D cards, he was arrested on 11 May, 1953 by the Sheikh Abdullah Government of Jammu & Kashmir while crossing the J&K-India border.

Dr Mookerjee was the Finance Minister of undivided Bengal (1941-42), Union Minister for Industry (1947-50). He resigned from the ministry because of political differences with Nehru.

Dr Mookerjee’s mother demanded 'an open, impartial, immediate enquiry' in a letter to Nehru she said, “I hold the Kashmir government responsible for the death of my son. I accuse your government of complicity in the matter'. It requires investigation. One wonders as to why BJP led NDA Government with L.K. Advani as the Home Minister and Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister did institute an inquiry into the matter. The latter has publicly alleged that Jan Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was killed in as part of a “conspiracy” between the then Jawaharlal Nehru-led Central Government and the Jammu and Kashmir Government.

Did the Justice Y V Chandrachud Commission of Inquiry connected with his death Deen Dayal Upadhyaya reveal the circumstances of his death in 1968? Upadhyaya’s life was cut short by the unknown hands on 11th February, 1968 at Mugal Sarai Railway yard where he was found dead.

Lalit Narayan Mishra, the Railway Minister in the Indira Gandhi Government was assassinated on January 2, 1974 in Samastipur, Bihar Railway Station. Did the Commission of Enquiry connected with his death reach any conclusion? It has not been able to clarify the facts before the country whether that was really a case of assassination and if so who was the assassinator. K.K. Mathew Commission refused to hold an inquiry because it "will be parallel to the one to be conducted by the criminal court for the reason that the evidence before both forums will be the same" although there were several precedents to do so.

Sanjay Gandhi's death led to the formation of Justice M L Jain Commission which was appointed to probe the plane crash that killed Sanjay. In violation of mandatory law that inquiry was stopped without any plausible reason and the cause of the plane crash remains a mystery. It is mandatory for the government to institute a commission of inquiry into all airplane crashes. Did this Commission reach any conclusion?

The Arjun Singh Government of Madhya Pradesh set up a commission of inquiry called the Bhopal Poisonous Gas Leakage Inquiry Commission, presided over by N.K. Singh, a sitting judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on 6 December 1984. This Commission of Inquiry was wound up on 15 December 1985 with the Government of Madhya Pradesh not extending its term of one year. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh were behind this.

A week later, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research submitted a detailed report squarely implicating the Union Carbide Company for faulty design of the plant as well as its reckless disregard of operational safety. This happened only after Warren Anderson, chairman of Union Carbide was arrested in Bhopal on December 6, 1984 and released on bail on December 7 and allow flee the country. He remains an absconder accused of manslaughter. Now Union Carbide had merged with Dow Chemicals and Indian Government in which Arjun Singh still has a potent voice is doing nothing to bring Anderson to India to stand trial. Bhopal Gas victims are still seeking justice and the same Arjun Singh, head of group of Ministers on Bhopal is refusing to meet them. Did victims of world’s biggest disaster get any relief from the Commission?

Justice C K Thakkar Commission appointed to inquire into the death of Indira Gandhi ruled that an inquiry commission into the conspiracy angle should be appointed because “the needle of suspicion pointed” at R K Dhawan who had been Indira Gandhi's personal secretary. Thakkar is former Chief Justice of Mumbai High Court. Rajiv Gandhi made Dhawan a Minister in his Cabinet. Justice Thakkar was made the chairman of the Law Commission. Did this Commission's findings mean anything?.

Thakkar Commission categorically pointed out that there was foreign hand behind the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Although it was a matter of national concern, Rajiv Gandhi did not think it fit to find out as to who were the foreign hands behind it. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in Sri Perambudur while campaigning in 1991 elections. The Jain Commission inquiring into the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi has also pointed at some foreign hands behind it. Should foreign conspiracies like these remain unearthed?

Do you still believe in Commissions and the utility of Commissions?

Will CPI -ML enligthen as to why no Commission was set up to probe the killings of Upper Caste people?

Why does Justice Amir Das who headed the Commission for nine long years to probe the political links of the outlawed Ranvir Sena, a private army of landlords could not conclude his investigation in so many years?

Justice Amir Das, the retired judge of the Patna High Court dismissed the charge that the commission was taking too long to complete its task. The commission was notified in December 1997, shortly after the Laxmanpur Bathe massacre.

It took three years to the commission to ensure basic infrastructure and during these three years, he continued without any office, lawyers, courtroom, employees etc to complete the probe. The commission started functioning in 2001.

CPI (ML) has appealed to Bihar governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi to ensure that the decision to wind up the Amir Das Commission is reversed. Nitish Kumar led Bihar government's decision to wind up the commission seems yet another cover-up operation. The Commission was set up by RJD government in Bihar in the wake of the infamous Laxmanpur-Bathe massacre in which Ranvir Sena members had slaughtered more than 60 oppressed labour-class people of the village on a December night in 1997.

Even if this Commission is granted requisite time and facilities for finishing its job, how can anyone be so gullible to believe that the recommendations of this Commission will also not meet the same fate?

The way Justice Thakkar Commission that inquired into the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was treated it seemed the judges will refrain from chairing such commissions of inquiry. Justice J S Verma Commission relating to the security aspects about the Rajiv Gandhi assassination seemed an exception but soon the judges gave in to the temptation of post-retirement benefits. The High Court judges and apex court judges both the serving ones and the retired ones seem to have fallen prey to the bait of heading a Commission of Inquiry. Whenever it suits the politicians, they set up Parliamentary Committees and ignore the judges and when they employ them if it suits them they dissolve the Commissions or deny the required extensions to them still judges allow themselves to be humiliated and exploited.