There are many versions of the sinking of the Khukri. One of the widely prevalent views in the Navy is that the rate of fire of the Hangor did not support the rate at which the Khukri got hit. There was a widely held view that an american submarine might have been responsible. There are also disparate views on what happened with regard to Capt Mulla's death. I have heard one survivor state that he was sucked down by the turbulence that follows a sinking ship. Such incidents tend to get glamorised later. Ditto for many other award winners in later conflicts. Ex servicemen, particularly officers, will understand what I mean. There is no doubt errors were made. Human beings are prone to errors, and the fog of war obliterates fact during and after the event, in this case a tragic one for India and the families of those lost. The sad fact is that the loss could have been avoided. Many of the survivors were lost as the ships that arrived on the scene focused on hunting or deterring the submarine rather than pick up survivors, many of whom are feared to have been lost in the dark waters due to anti submarine mortar shelling. We will never know the full truth about Khukri.
