What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
NEW DELHI: Family members of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on Tuesday requested the government to form a committee to investigate his death following sensational revelations that American intelligence agency Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had killed him.
Their remarks came after the confessions of Robert Crowley, the second-in-command of the CIA’s Directorate of Operations (in charge of covert operations), were revealed in a book titled ‘Conversation With The Crow’ by Gregory Douglas. Crowley confessed that the CIA killed India’s nuclear physicist Homi Bhabha and Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.
Vibhakar Shashtri, grandson of the former Prime Minister, tweeted, “Requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji and Union Home Minister Amit Shah Ji to form a committee to investigate the death of former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji. Every Indian wants an answer to this question. That’s what happened that night with My grandfather Shastri Ji.”
मैं प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी व ग्रह मंत्री @AmitShah जी से निवेदन करता हूँ की पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री स्व• लाल बहादुर शास्त्री जी के रहस्यमय मौत की जाँच नए सिरे से करवाई जाए,इसका जवाब केवल शास्त्री परिवार नही बल्कि समस्त देशवासी जानना चाहते है की आखिर उनके साथ क्या हुआ था। https://t.co/7jQsTGk5Jt
— Vibhakar Shastri (@VShastri_) July 19, 2022
The former PM’s son Anil Shastri also requested the government to form a committee. He also requested the government to declassify the documents related to the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri.
“I request the government, especially the Prime Minister, to take note of the development. An enquiry should be conducted in the matter,” the Congress leader said. “There have been a lot of doubts regarding his death and those doubts need to go,” he said, adding, “Government should also declassify documents related to his death.”
Meanwhile, the granddaughter of the late former PM Mandira Shastri also calls for an investigation into the matter.
“Confessions by Robert Crowley has only made it clearer that our government should look into the matter and investigate the death of my grandfather,” she tweeted.
Confessions by Robert Crowley has only made it clearer that our government should look into the matter and investigate the death of my grandfather. @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji 🙏🏼 https://t.co/Tudn0ID4qT
— Mandira Shastri (@MandiraShastri) July 19, 2022
In the book, which has been recorded as conversations, Crowley said, “Was, Gregory, let’s use the past tense if you please. The name was Homi Bhabha. That one was dangerous, believe me. He had an unfortunate accident. He was flying to Vienna to stir up more trouble when his 707 had a bomb go off in the cargo hold and they all came down on a high mountain way up in the Alps. No real evidence and the world was much safer.”
To a question by Douglas, was Bhabha alone on the plane? Crowley replied: “No, it was a commercial Air India flight.”
“Then don’t worry about it. We could have blown it up over Vienna but we decided the high mountains were much better for the bits and pieces to come down on. I think a possible death or two among mountain goats is much preferable than bringing down a huge plane right over a big city,” Crowley said in the book.
Crowley also claimed: “Well, I call it as I see it. At the time, it was our best shot. And we nailed Shastri as well. Another cow-loving raghead”.
“Gregory, you say you don’t know about these people. Believe me, they were close to getting a bomb and so what if they nuked their deadly Paki enemies? So what? Too many people in both countries. Breed like rabbits and full of snake-worshipping twits. I don’t for the life of me see what the Brits wanted in India. And then threaten us? They were in the sack with the Russians, I told you. Maybe they could nuke the Panama Canal or Los Angeles. We don’t know that for sure, but it is not impossible,” Crowley said.
When Douglas asked who Shastri was, Crowley said, “A political type who started the program in the first place. Bhabha was a genius and he could get things done, so we aced both of them.”
“And we let certain people there know that there was more where that came from. We should have hit the chinks, too, while we were at it, but they were a tougher target. Did I tell you about the idea to wipe out Asia’s rice crops? We developed a disease that would have wiped rice off the map there and it’s their staple diet. The fu***ng rice growers here got wind of it and raised such a stink we canned the whole thing. The theory was that the disease could spread around and hurt their pocketbooks. If the Mao people invade Alaska, we can tell the rice people it’s all their fault,” Crowley said.
“The only thing the Communists understand is brute force. India was quieter after Bhabha croaked. We could never get to Mao but at one time, the Russians and we were discussing the how and when of the project. Oh yes, sometimes we do business with the other side. Probably more than you realize,” Crowley said.
Shastri died in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (then the Soviet Union) on 11 January 1966, one day after signing a peace treaty to end the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War.
Bhabha died when Air India Flight 101 crashed near Mont Blanc on 24 January 1966.
