'No crash killing Netaji took place'

Adding another twist to the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, the Taiwan government has informed Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry that the air crash at Taipei on August 18, 1945, till date believed to have killed the freedom fighter, had never taken place.

Justice MK Mukherjee, heading the one-man commission of inquiry into Netaji's disappearance, told newsmen in Kolkata on Thursday that the Taiwanese authorities confirmed to him during his recent visit to that country that there was no record of any air crash at Taihoku, the old name of Taipei, between August 14 and September 20, 1945.

Justice Mukherjee, who was speaking to newspersons after a routine hearing of the commission, said Taiwanese authorities, who confirmed this fact, had promised to provide documentary proof within 15 days.

He said that during his visit to Taiwan last month, the Taiwanese authorities confirmed the genuineness of two e-mails sent by Taipei Mayor and Minister of Transportation and Communication to HindustanTimes.com journalist Anuj Dhar, stating that there was no air crash during that period.

"The Mayor of Taipei and the External Affairs Ministry of Taiwan government confirmed to us the e-mails were genuine," he said.

He said the e-mails, sent to Dhar, stated that during that period no evidence showed that any plane carrying Bose had crashed at the old Taipei Airport.
 
"During the period August 14 to October 25, 1945, no evidence shows that one plane had ever crashed at the old Matsuyama Airport (now Taipei Domestic Airport) carrying Mr Subhas Chandra Bose", Justice Mukherjee said quoting an e-mail sent by Lin Ling-San, Minister of Transportation and Communication, Taiwan government, to the HindustanTimes.com journalist.

The commission, which was provided two e-mails reportedly sent by Taiwanese authorities to Dhar, said "the Mayor of Taipei and the External Affairs Ministry of Taiwan government confirmed us the e-mails to be genuine".

According to one e-mail, there was no air crash during that period while the other made a reference to a crash on September 20-23, 1945, involving a US C-47 transporter plane carrying 26 people, most of them believed to be former American POWs just released from camps in the Philippines.

That plane, the e-mail said, crashed on Mount Trident in Taitung area, about 200 nautical miles away from Taipei.