The Justice M K Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry has concluded that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose is dead but that he didn't die in a plane crash in Taipei in August 1945. Justice Mukherjee was entrusted with the task of solving the mystery of Bose's disappearance in 1999 and in the years that followed he went around the world trying to crack it. The Sunday Express follows his flight.London, 2001Went to study the records of the 1956 investigation carried out by the Taiwanese government. Documents of the probe, ordered by the British government, are with their intelligence agency.Tokyo, 2002Went to interview Dr Yumshumi who had supposedly examined Bose after the crash. Met the doctor but found his statements to be contradictory. Found Bose's 'death certificate' but it was signed in the year 1988. When questioned, the doctor said the authorities had asked him to put the year as that. Also visited Renkoji Temple near Tokyo where Bose's ashes were said to be preserved.Taipei, 2004Visited the site of the crash, met Taiwanese government officials and examined all documents related to the plane crash.2005, Russia and SiberiaWas tipped off by researcher Purabi Roy on certain key witnesses who apparently knew about Bose's stay in Russia after the crash. But when he went there, found most witnesses to be missing and others simply backed out. Visited five cities in the country looking for classified documents in the KGB and military intelligence files but was denied access.Text: NANDINI GUHA
