Lal Bahadur Shastri Death Reason: Mystery Behind The Death Of India's Former PM

Today marks the 56th anniversary of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's death - one of modern India's icons whose enduring popularity transcends all boundaries. What really happened in the early hours of January 11, 1966, in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) remains a mystery, owing largely to our government's gratuitous use of state secrecy. 

Generations have passed, but conspiracy theories about Shastri's death have not died away. In another country, the strange case of a prime minister's death would have long been investigated by a high-powered group of top officials, and all relevant documents would have been made public. Nonetheless, Lal Bahadur Shastri's death reason still remains a mystery.

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What Do We Know So Far:

Around 4 p.m. on January 10, Prime Minister Shastri arrived at the villa provided by his Russian hosts after signing the Tashkent agreement. Late at night, he ate a light meal prepared by Jan Mohammad, the personal chef of TN Kaul, the Indian ambassador to Moscow.

In the same villa, he had other Russian butlers at his disposal. At 11.30 p.m., Shastri requested a glass of milk from the ambassador's cook. He was fine when his personal staff left him at that time.

However, around 1.25 a.m. on January 11, Shastri awoke coughing violently. He was in a room with no phone or intercom. So he went to another room and told his staff to notify his personal doctor, RN Chugh. Shastri had died by the time Dr. Chugh arrived. The symptoms were consistent with a heart attack. There wasn't much Dr Chugh could do at this point. He started crying. "You didn't give me enough time, Babuji." Shastri took Lord Ram's name and left.

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Lal Bahadur Shastri's Death Reason (Possible)

• The KGB suspected poisoning: An officer of the KGB's Ninth Directorate rudely woke up Ahmed Sattarov, Shastri's Russian butler, at 4 a.m. (responsible for the safety of VIPs). According to Sattarov, the KGB officer "said they suspected the Indian prime minister had been poisoned."
• Internal Coup: It has been reported that some congress leaders were not happy with Shastri's policies & they wanted to bring him down, hence a possibility of Internal could not be ruled out. 
• Role Of ISI: Pakistani intelligence is also said to be behind the death of Shastri Ji as the PM has played a major role in defeating Pakistan in the 1965 war, something which Pakistan believed it could've easily won.
• Natural Cause: Shastri Ji had a very stressful life a the PM of the country especially after the death of PM Nehru. It is possible that all of that stress could've resulted in the sudden cardiac arrest.