New Delhi [India], February 12 : Delhi Police special cell on Thursday questioned representatives of publisher Penguin India amidst a controversy surrounding the unpublished memoir of the former Army Chief MM Naravane, sources said.
The Special Cell issued a notice and posed approximately 12 key questions. Representatives of Penguin India responded to some questions and requested additional time to respond to others. The Special Cell will now analyse the publishers' responses and investigate whether the leak resulted from conspiracy or negligence. The findings will be revealed after the investigation.
A political row erupted after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sought to quote from the "pre-print book" of General Manoj Mukund Naravane during his speech in Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks on the President's Address last week, with the treasury benches strongly opposing his remarks. After facing several adjournments on the issue, the House last week adopted the motion of thanks by voice vote amid sloganeering by opposition benches.
Penguin Random House India in a statement clarified that it holds the sole publishing rights for 'Four Stars of Destiny', the memoir of General Naravane.
The publisher stated that the book has not gone into publication and no copies, print or digital, have been published, distributed, sold, or made available to the public.
In its X post on Monday, Penguin India stated, "In light of recent public discourse and media reporting, Penguin Random House India would like to clarify that we hold the sole publishing rights for the book Four Stars of Destiny, a memoir by General Manoj Mukund Naravane, former Chief of the Indian Army. We wish to make it clear that the book has not gone into publication. No copies of the book - in print or digital form - have been published, distributed, sold, or otherwise made available to the public by Penguin Random House India."
On February 9, Delhi Police took cognisance of information found on various social media platforms and news forums claiming that a pre-print copy of 'Four Stars of Destiny' is being circulated and the Special Cell filed a case into the "purported leak/breach of a yet to be approved publication".