By Vijaya Sharma

Long before anyone, the British intelligence sleuths had discovered the Russian angle to Bose's 'death' in an air crash. Documentary evidence from British sources lends credence to the theory.

The British Intelligence had full information of Bose's plans to go to Tokyo, meet the Soviet Ambassador and seek Soviet help for India's independence. The Britishers never believed that Bose had died in the air-crash and they spared no effort to find out if Bose escaped to Russia.

A vital source of information for them were the Indians in Rangoon who mainly comprised former Indian National Army  (INA) and Indian Indpendence League ( IIL)men and could provide clues to Subhas' whereabouts.

Every talk of Subhas Bose among the local populace, each meeting and discussion found a place in the British Intelligence records.

A letter of the British Intelligence, reports, "there is a great deal of talk among the Indian public in Rangoon about the USSR. (Source: 22nd June 1945 source P.R.O WO. 208/804 A India IB 10005/190/GSI(b) Sec 2 to MI2 SEAC and India command. Weekly Security Intelligence Summary No. 190). Many are confident of a war on Britain by Russia to whom Bose would immediately ally himself."

And when they discovered that the Japanese military intelligence Hikari Kikan signal of August 18, 1945 informing Indian communities of Bose's death, though sent to Malaya, was not sent to Burma and other parts of South East Asia, it set bells ringing in the British Intelligence.

Was this exception meant to inform the INA and IIL in Burma that Bose was safe and had reached Russia ?

Several aspects of the signal from Hikari Kikan were thoroughly investigated. The British were particularly curious over a secret meeting on August 17 (barely hours before the crash) between Netaji and General Isoda, the chief of Hikari Kikan,

On November 12, 1945, Assistant Director of Intelligence Bureau P E S Finney after cross-questioning a civilian interpreter with Hikari Kikan, , Watanabe, said: "About August 17, Watanabe (the interpreter) was called at General Isoda's house to interpret a conversation between Lt. General Isoda and Col Kagawa on one hand and Subhas Chandra Bose, 'Major-General' Bhosle and 'Lt-Col' Habibur Rehman on the other.

Watanabe reached there when the conversation was in its last stages. The point being discussed was how to get Subhas Bose to the Russians, probably via Manchuria."

Pursuing the track of Bose being in Russia, a British Intelligence report records a meeting of the Indian community of 25th November, 1945. (Source: PRO. WO. 203/804 A. From H.Q. 12th army. TO SACSEA. I 2060. ISUM No. 21 Confidential)

Three thousand Indians, the majority of whom were IIL and ex-INA members, met in Rangoon to form an Indo-Burma Union. One chair was left empty for the "Spirit of Bose" and a speaker saluted the empty chair.

That Subhas Bose was indeed headed to Russia was re-confirmed when the CSDIC conducted a trial of top INA generals including Bose's Deputy chief of Staff Gen Bhonsle at the Red Fort in 1946.