Contrary to the Uttar Pradesh governments claim,former officer on special duty (OSD) in the Home Department Subhash Bhan Sadh who was supposedly carrying the 23 missing files pertaining to the Ayodhya dispute when he died after an accident in Delhi in 2000,was not expected to appear before the Liberhan Commission. The secretary to the Liberhan Commission had told the Delhi Police,which investigated Subhashs death,that no summons were issued to him to attend the commissions proceedings or appear before it on May 1,2000. However,the Uttar Pradesh government told the Delhi Police that Sadh was sent to appear before the Liberhan Commission on May 1 and 2 on behalf of the government,but he carried photocopies,not original files. In fact,the commission had not asked for any files,said K B Aggarwal,the then special secretary (home) in the UP government,in a communication to the Delhi Police on July 6,2000. Also,there were no orders to carry any files to Delhi,Aggarwal said. The letters from the Liberhan Commission and the state government are quoted in an affidavit which T N Mohan,the then deputy commissioner in the Delhi Police Headquarters,filed in the Delhi High Court in response to a petition of Subhashs father Bir Bhan Sadh,seeking an impartial inquiry into his sons death. According to Mohans affidavit,the search memo of Subhash after the accident showed recovery of some papers,including visiting cards,slips,tickets etc. No file/documents were seized or taken or found from the spot or at the hospital. No file in original or its photostat was recovered by the PCR staff,medical doctors or Sub-Inspector S L Meena who was the first to visit the spot of the accident. Aggarwal,who is now posted as Chief Vigilance Officer in the Container Corporation of India,could not explain the contradictions: one between his letter and the Liberhan Commissions letter,and the other between his statement that Subhash carried only photocopies and the governments claim that he carried the original files. I dont remember much about the case now. I was posted in Uttar Pradesh for a short period. Subhash Bhan was a sincere and hardworking officer. His family members had met me after his death, said Aggarwal. Subhash had boarded Kashi-Vishwanath Express in Lucknow on April 30,2000,and just as the train entered New Delhis Tilak Bridge station the next morning,he fell down and was seriously injured. He later died in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on May 2. Bir Bhans lawyer Randhir Jain said on the basis of letters from the Liberhan Commission and Aggarwal,the Delhi Police concluded that there was no conspiracy in Subhashs death. But why did the police not record his statement when he was fit to sign hospital papers before being taken to the operation theatre? asked Jain. He said when he pointed out the inconsistencies in the police story,the court ordered a re-investigation which was not conducted. Later,the court transferred the investigation to CID and asked the agency to complete the investigation within three months and file a report,but this was also not done, he added.
