Mr. Subhas Chandra Bose was being brought to Tokyo as the first step in his transfer to Manchuria where he was expected to seek safety and protection from the Russians at the time of his reported death in a plane crash on August 18, according to Mr Amar Lahiri, a former Indian journalist resident in Tokyo.
Both his political history and his friendship with a number of Russians and the fact that Generalissimo Stalin is once reported to have invited him to visit the Soviet Union made Russia the most logical haven despite the fact of Russo-Japanese hostilities being then in full swing, Mr. Lahiri declared.
These factors had indeed during the previous year made the Japanese anxious to put Mr. Bose in touch with the Russians to serve as an unofficial Russo-Japanese goodwill emissary.
When after the fail of Saipan. Mr. Bose attended a conference in September 1944, in which the Japanese were trying to rally wavering East Asia to their support, Mr. Bose is reported to have told close associates that "Japan is going to be defeated and we must look out for ourselves as best as we can."
At that time the Koiso Cabinet is alleged to have promised him "that in case the war goes wrong we will put you in touch with the Russian authorities and you can be safe in Russia."
The account does not conform with the official Japanese Information Board announcement issued by the Japanese News Agency on August 23, which stated that Mr. Bose died in a hospital in Japan on ihe midnight of August 19.
The only explanation for five days delay in making Mr. Bose's death public is reported to be the feeling of Japanese authorities that the "stunning news would have bad repercussions in India," and they spent the intervening days discussing with Mr. Bose's Ministers how best to make it known.
