Did Nehru receive Netaji’s ashes?

The Right to Information (RTI) application filed with the CIC has brought to light another revelation in the case regarding Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s mysterious disappearance. Information Commissioner O P Kejariwal said that the discovery, implying that Netaji’s ashes and other remains were brought back to the country by Jawaharlal Nehru, would open up altogether a new line of inquiry.

Appellant Anuj Dhar filed an RTI application with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), seeking information on a note dated December 2, 1954 written by M O Mathai, Private Secretary to the then Prime Minister. The note said an amount of Rs 200 was received by the Minister of External Affairs from the Indian Embassy in Tokyo with the ashes and other remains of Bose.

In this connection, the appellant wanted to know about the disposal of ashes and other remains of Netaji after they were received in India by Nehru (then Minister of External Affairs), and why this information was not conveyed to the people of India in general. He also sought information regarding the Bose family in particular and the present whereabouts of the ashes and other remains.