Cap Belonging To Netaji SC Bose Didn't Go 'Missing' From The Red Fort; It Was Loaned Out, Says Culture Ministry: Reports

Last week, news surfaced that a cap belonging to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, which the Bose family had given to the Government of India for the museum dedicated to the freedom fighter at the Red Fort, had been 'missing' and is being 'shifted around'.

The Ministry of Culture then clarified that the cap belonging to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose had not gone "missing" but had been loaned out along with other "two dozen-odd artefacts" to the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata.

Bose's grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose reportedly requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to instruct the officials to get the cap back to its 'original position'.

In a post on Twitter, he reportedly said: "the Bose family had handed over Netaji’s historic cap to Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi ji to be kept at Red Fort Museum and not to be shifted around. Request Narendra Modiji to instruct placing cap in its original place.”

Chandra Kumar Bose reportedly used the hashtag - #NetajisCapMissing with the tweet. The response came from the Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Prahlad Patel.

In a post on Twitter, he mentioned that the cap and sword of Netaji is completely safe. He added that ASI has given 24 items related to Netaji on loan to Victoria Memorial Kolkata; that these were given for display at the exhibition held on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji and will be back soon.

This report mentions a source from the culture ministry saying that the cap was loaned from the Red Fort Museum to Victoria Memorial for six months from January after a memorandum of understanding was signed.

The cap along with other artefacts were sent to Kolkata with "proper escort and insurance." The report further mentions the source saying that "the MoU expires on July 18 and further steps will be taken."

Chandra Kumar Bose said in a post on Twitter that the cap shouldn't have been shifted out and no intimation was given about the shift.

The Indian Express quotes Professor Kapil Kumar, Former Professor of History and Director, Centre for Freedom Struggle & Diaspora Studies,IGNOU, as saying: “Of the 80-90 artefacts that were displayed at the Netaji museum at Red Fort, more than 20 display boxes were suddenly found empty by visitors this week. There should have been a clear labelling on those units that the display has been moved temporarily.”

Chandra Kumar Bose said in a post on Twitter that the "confusion" could have been easily avoided by putting up a notice at the Red Fort Museum "stating that Netaji's cap had been temporarily kept at the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata."