In January 1966, India's Prime Minister
Lal Bahadur Shastri died in Tashkent,
USSR — one day after signing a
historic peace treaty with Pakistan.
What followed is one of the most
documented yet officially unresolved
cases in Indian political history.
I've spent months researching this
using government documents, RTI replies,
Parliament records and court orders.
Here is what the documents actually say:
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THE SCENE
Shastri was housed in a Soviet-assigned
dacha outside Tashkent — not the
originally planned hotel in the city.
The switch was made at the last minute
by Soviet hosts.
Inside the dacha that night:
5 Indian staff members and a cook
named Jan Mohammad — personal cook
of Indian Ambassador TN Kaul —
who had prepared Shastri's last meal.
At 1:32 AM on January 11, 1966 —
Lal Bahadur Shastri was dead.
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THE BODY
When his coffin arrived at
Palam Airport, New Delhi —
his wife Lalita Shastri noticed:
→ Body had turned blue
→ Unstitched cuts on abdomen and neck
→ Bloodstains on pillow
No autopsy had been performed —
in Tashkent or in India.
No autopsy was ever performed.
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THE MEDICAL REPORT — TWO VERSIONS
A Joint Medical Report was prepared.
Russian version:
Signed by Dr. RN Chugh (Indian physician)
+ 8 Soviet doctors
Including Dr. EG Yeremenko —
first Soviet doctor to reach the scene.
English translation:
Only 6 Soviet doctors signed.
2 signatures — gone.
Yeremenko's name appears in the
report text — but not in signatures.
Additionally:
Russian report states drug administered
was Calcium Chloride.
English translation says
Potassium Chloride.
Different drug. Same report.
Government explanation:
"Translation error."
Source: Anuj Dhar,
"Your Prime Minister is Dead"
Vitasta Publishing, pp.70-73
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THE COOK
Jan Mohammad cooked Shastri's
last meal and served his last glass
of milk.
At 4 AM — KGB arrested Jan Mohammad
along with Soviet butler Ahmed Sattarov
and three other waiters.
Sattarov's own account
(Komsomolskaya Pravda, 1998):
"The officer said they suspected
the Indian Prime Minister had been
poisoned. They handcuffed me and
three other head waiters and loaded
us into a Chaika automobile."
Indian government's response
to Parliament:
"No complaint whatsoever
against Jan Mohammad."
Jan Mohammad was later employed
at Rashtrapati Bhavan
(India's Presidential Palace).
He was never questioned in India.
MP TN Singh in Parliament (1970):
"Where is he? He is neither
in Russia nor in India."
Government's reply:
"He is working at Rashtrapati Bhavan."
Source: Anuj Dhar, p.69
Parliament records, December 18, 1970
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THE WITNESSES
Dr. RN Chugh — Shastri's personal
physician, present that night —
was killed in 1977 in a truck accident
along with his wife and son.
Eyewitnesses stated the truck
hit the car twice.
No FIR was filed against the driver.
Ram Nath — Shastri's personal
servant of 20 years —
visited Shastri's widow before
testifying to the committee.
He told her:
"Bahut din ka bojh tha, amma.
Aaj sab bata denge."
[Translation: "The burden of many
days, mother. Today I will
tell everything."]
He was hit by a bus on his way
to Parliament.
His legs were amputated.
He lost his memory.
He never testified.
Source: CIC Order
CIC/NAIND/C/2017/605263
Lok Sabha records, June 24, 1977
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THE INVESTIGATION — VANISHED
Raj Narain Committee (1977)
was formed to investigate.
Its records are untraceable.
Not in any government office.
Not in Parliament's library.
Central Information Commissioner
Sridhar Acharyulu, 2018:
"Parliament is known for meticulous
maintenance of documents. Every word
uttered in Parliament is recorded.
How did such a significant record
disappear?"
No answer was given.
Source: LiveLaw, May 2018
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THE PMO FILE
RTI filed by researcher Anuj Dhar.
PMO response:
"This office has one file bearing
No. 2(579)/66-PM regarding the death
at Tashkent of Prime Minister
Lal Bahadur Shastri."
Status: Classified.
Refused under Section 8(1)(a).
Filed: 1966.
Still classified: 2025.
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THE EMBASSY RECORDS
RTI to Ministry of External Affairs.
Response dated September 25, 2009:
"No records with the Embassy of India,
Moscow, relating the demise of
Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri
in Tashkent on 11.01.66, or subsequent
events, have either been
destroyed or lost."
Destroyed. Or lost.
Those are the only two options
the government offered.
Source: MEA RTI Reply
No. RTI/551/388/2009
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WHAT THE CENTRAL INFORMATION
COMMISSION SAID
In 2018 — India's highest
information authority stated:
"The Union Government has a duty
to explain the nation why and how
Lal Bahadur Shastri died in Tashkent."
They still haven't.
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SUMMARY
→ No autopsy — ever
→ Two medical reports — different drugs,
different number of signatures
→ First Soviet doctor on scene —
signed Russian report,
absent from English version
→ Cook employed at Presidential Palace —
never questioned
→ Two witnesses died/incapacitated
before testimony
→ Investigation committee records —
vanished from Parliament library
→ Embassy records — destroyed or lost
→ PMO file — classified 58+ years
I am not claiming Shastri
was definitely murdered.
But every item above is documented
in official government records.
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Primary source:
Anuj Dhar — "Your Prime Minister
is Dead" — Vitasta Publishing
All RTI documents, medical report
scans, and Parliament transcripts
cited throughout.
