Netaji family urges Mamata to respond to RTI query

, Dec 30: Family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose today appealed to

Chief Minister

to respond to an RTI query on secret files relating to the mysterious disappearance of the INA leader.

Researcher Anuj Dhar had last month filed an RTI from New Delhi but has received no reply from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

Appealing that the government should release the files, Netaji's grandnephew, Chandra Kumar Bose, said that he was "not surprised" with the CMO's inaction.

"In November last year, more than 30 members of Netaji's family wrote to the honourable Chief Minister seeking her intervention in getting secret Central government Netaji files declassified, but her office did not even acknowledge the receipt of our letter. Our attempts to meet the CM also failed," he said.

Dhar's application asked for a list of "secret files concerning Netaji being held by the WB government departments and agencies." It also sought to know "the reason why these files are still being held secret in this age and time" and "whether or not the government is planning to declassify these files".

Today he filed a complaint with the West Bengal Information Commission after his Right to Information request seeking details of secret files allegedly being held by the state government went unanswered.

"I filed the complaint at the commission's office today," Dhar who has written three books on Netaji said. The RTI act makes it binding on the Central and State Public Information Officers to respond to an RTI application within 30 days of the receipt of application.

Dhar claimed in his application that during his journalistic days he had learnt that WB government "was holding several dozen classified files concerning Netaji", most of which "relate to the controversy surrounding Netaji's reported death".

PTI