Chandra Kumar Bose, grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and former BJP leader, alleged on Thursday that Netaji’s cap has vanished from the Netaji Museum at Delhi’s Red Fort.
In an X post, Bose reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the January 23, 2019, handover—Netaji Jayanti—when he, family members, friend Suparno Satpathy, and Open Platform for Netaji (OPN) associates presented the cap. Modi dedicated it at the museum that day. Bose shared photos of the event.
OPN member Advocate Naveen Bamel recently visited and found the cap gone. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) staff offered no explanation. “Netaji is our tallest leader and this is highly embarrassing. I shall be obliged if you kindly look into this matter,” Bose wrote, urging Modi to investigate.
Replying to a comment, Bose stressed Modi’s responsibility: “It is the responsibility of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji to clarify why #NetajisCap is missing from the Red Fort Museum. I had personally handed over the cap to the Prime Minister and he placed it in a glass box at the entrance of the museum. The box is empty — where is the cap?”
Bose called any loss an “act of sacrilege” for the historic artifact.
In related news, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition by another grandnephew, Ashish Ray, seeking Netaji’s mortal remains from Japan. A bench led by CJI Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi, refused to entertain it after senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi withdrew, noting Netaji’s daughter would file afresh. The court noted prior similar dismissals.