One of Lal Bahadur Shastri’s kin and an activist, who is demanding declassification of the Netaji files, has claimed that Former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri’s sudden demise in Tashkent may have been linked to his views on Netaji’s disappearance and his efforts to form a second probe panel to solve the mystery.
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Minutes before his death in Tashkent in 1966, Shastri had reportedly informed his family over phone that he would divulge something that would shift the country’s attention from the contentious Tashkent declaration that had just been signe.
Shastri was also keen on setting up a second inquiry commission to probe the mysterious disappearance of Subhas Chandra Bose.
Activist and author Anuj Dhar says “Shastri was in favour of an unbiased inquiry. It might have revealed the truth, which would have been unacceptable to many. It is suspicious that he died soon after, without any illness and before he could reveal what he wanted to.”
Background
In response to an RTI filed by Dhar, the PMO had admitted in 2009 that it had one document relating to Shastri’s death which could not be disclosed as it could harm foreign relations.
