Forum wants probe into disappearance of Azad Hind Fauj fund

Kolkata: Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the formation of ‘Azad Hind government’ headed by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in 1943, an organisation of lawyers and retired government officials on Sunday urged the Centre to declassify all files on Bose and his army. It demanded a judicial probe into the disappearance of the army property. Claiming that the contributions of Bose and the Azad Hind Fauj in the country’s freedom struggle were deliberately suppressed by certain politicians as part of a political conspiracy, the forum requested the Centre and all state governments to observe the day of the army’s formation every year in memory of the martyrs. “Azad Hind Fauj and Netaji were not given the respect they deserve for their massive contribution towards India’s independence. The Centre should start a high-level judicial inquiry to find out about the army’s fund worth Rs 72 crore at that time,” said Joydeep Mukherjee, lawyer and General Secretary of India Legal Aid Forum.

“The contribution of the army was deliberately suppressed by the first Indian government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru and successive governments thereafter. It must be probed whether the army’s money was devoured by a certain political family in the country,” he said in a veiled dig at the Nehru family. A number of Netaji lovers, followers and veteran freedom fighters from Bengal were also present at the event.

The members of the forum also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hoisting the national flag at the Red Fort on Sunday to commemorate the day for the first time. “The Prime Minister has done a commendable job today by hoisting the tricolour in memory of the army today. The Centre should immediately declassify all the documents on Netaji and his army in the public forum,” said former senior Bengal police officer Pankaj Dutta. The government should also release a book written by historian Protul Gupta ‘Contribution of Azad Hind Fauj’ which is kept in the lockers of the Defence Academy,” he added. (IANS)