Netaji file letters show he might have been alive after 1945, his family spied upon: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata

There is enough indication that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose might have been alive after 1945, chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Friday after declassifying 64 secret files on Netaji.

Mamata released a digital version of the 64 files, triggering unprecedented excitement among Netaji followers and prompting Netaji's niece-in-law Krishna Bose to acknowledge that it was a "bold step" in unlocking the mystery.

The 64 confidential files made public on Friday have several references and correspondence indicating Netaji's presence after 1945. The most crucial of them is a Howrah CID report quoting British and US intelligence reports that Netaji was alive after 1945 and "might have undertaken training in Russia". The files also reveal how members of the Bose family were spied upon by the state decades after Independence.

While releasing the files at the Police Museum, Mamata pressured the Centre to declassify its own secret documents on Netaji. "It is time for the Centre to release their files," Mamata said, referring to the 130 files held by central government departments and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Addressing a press meet, Mamata said: "There are mentions here and there about Netaji after 1945, which indicate that he might have been alive (after the alleged Taihoku crash). I have not seen all the files. But we have made a beginning. People should know the truth. Let the central government declassify the files on Netaji. Let good sense prevail. You cannot suppress the truth. Let the truth come out."

"In 70 years, the mystery of Netaji's disappearance has not been solved. It is unfortunate. How long you can keep it under secrecy. You read the files in detail," she urged.