Days after Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s grandnephew alleged that the freedom fighter’s cap had gone missing from the Netaji Museum in Delhi, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has clarified that it has been restored after being taken away for an exhibition at Port Blair.”The original cap of Netaji housed at Red Fort, Delhi, was taken to Sri Vijaya Puram from 19-25 January 2026, for an exhibition during Parakram Divas celebrations. After its return, an issue with the lock of the display required the cap to be kept in safe custody. The lock has now been repaired, and the cap has been placed back on display,” the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said in a post on X. The response comes after Chandra Kumar Bose, grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and a former BJP leader, claimed that Netaji’s cap has gone missing from the Netaji Museum at Red Fort in Delhi.He had said that he and his family members had personally handed over Netaji’s cap to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.“Dear Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, you may recall that I, along with members of my family, our friend Shri @SuparnoSatpathy and many others from the Open Platform for Netaji (OPN), had handed over Netaji’s cap to you. You had personally dedicated it at the Netaji Museum, Red Fort, Delhi on January 23, 2019 — Netaji Jayanti (Patriots’ Day of India),” Chandra wrote in a social media post.He also shared photographs of the event when the cap was handed over to Modi.“A member of OPN, Advocate Naveen Bamel, had recently visited the museum and found Netaji’s cap missing. No one at the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) could explain where it had gone. Netaji is our tallest leader and this is highly embarrassing. I shall be obliged if you kindly look into this matter,” Bose said on X.Responding to the allegations, an ASI official said, “The original cap is in safe custody at the Red Fort. The same was taken to Port Blair for display in temporary exhibition during Parakram Divas celebrations from January 19 to 25. Therefore, the place/display box was empty during this period.”In 2021, there were reports that the cap had gone missing from the museum, but the ASI had clarified then that the artefact had been loaned out along with two dozen-odd artefacts to the Victoria Memorial in West Bengal.After the ASI released its explanation, Chandra Kumar Bose acknowledged the clarification but raised fresh concerns. He thanked the organisation for explaining the situation, but questioned why such a small and valuable personal item was being transported to multiple exhibitions.He also questioned why visitors at the museum were not informed about the cap’s temporary absence or where it had been sent.Bose suggested that the museum should clearly notify visitors whenever the artefact is taken elsewhere for exhibitions. Such transparency, he said, would help prevent confusion like the one that has been occurring since 2021.