Netaji lived as K K Bhandari in Shalumari Ashram.......

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose lived as K K Bhandari in Shalumari Ashram

The Indian government on May 27 released 25 declassified files on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose whose disappearance over 70 years ago remains a mystery. The excerpts from the one of the files suggested that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was living incognito as K K Bhandari in 1963 in Shalumari Ashram in north Bengal. The reading of the file also revealed that topmost levels of the government was discussing K K Bhandari in 1963.

According to the one of the declassified files, Ramani Ranjan Das, secretary of the Shalumari Ashram wrote a letter to then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in connection with Subhas Chandra Bose in 1963. Immediately, a reference was made by K Ram, principal private secretary to the PM, to the director of Intelligence Bureau B N Mallik in a top secret memo on May 23, 1963. Malik replied in a top secret note (No III(51)/63(6) about K K Bhandari on June 12.

The Prime Minister’s Office made yet another reference on K K Bhandari on September 7 in 1963 followed by a reminder on September 11. The Intelligence Bureau sent out a top secret reply on November 16.

“As discussed with Director (A) where Under Secretary (Political) was also present, we may ask IB to concur with the downgradation of the two letters dated 12/6/1963 and 16/11/1963 sent to Director IB by Shri K Ram, PPS to PM about Shri K K Bhandari (believed to be Shri Subhas Chandra Bose),” wrote the Under Secretary (NGO) on July 5 in 2000 when Justice Mukherjee Commission sought copies of the top secret files related to the freedom fighter.

However the Mukherjee Commission stated categorically that Shalumari Baba was not Netaji. But now it seems that Netaji could have been living as K K Bhandari in the same ashram.