Delhi police question Penguin India team over leak of MM Naravane memoir

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police Special Cell questioned the team from Penguin India in connection with its investigation into the leak of the unpublished memoir of former army chief General MM Naravane (retd).

The cops are studying the answers and will question the management and publishing representatives again, sources said.





The police suspect that the leak was a co-ordinated effort to bypass Ministry of Defence clearance. The Special Cell invoked the section on "hatching a criminal conspiracy" in the existing FIR and earlier sent a notice to the publisher Penguin Random House India, asking it to answer a set of questions.

The police probe is hovering around the alleged sale or distribution of the pre-print copy in countries such as the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. "The first leaks were allegedly uploaded on .io domain extensions that belong to the British Ocean territory. Thereafter, they found their way to several other hosting platforms," an investigator said.

The police are analysing the ISBN (International Standard Book Number), a 13-digit identifier of a book, visible on the leaked versions, and are going to quiz the publishers about it, they said.

"The publishers will also be questioned as to why their statement on X came only after the registration of the FIR and why they did not approach the police immediately after the leak became apparent," said a senior officer, adding that the probe was in the initial stages.

Earlier, the police filed an FIR regarding the unauthorised release of the book's pre-print copy. The cops took cognisance of information found on social media claiming the book was circulated without clearance from authorities.

Upon verification, a PDF copy of the book was found on certain websites, and some online platforms displayed the book cover as if it was available for purchase. According to the police, a PDF copy of the book, apparently prepared by Penguin Random House India, was available on certain websites, and some online marketing platforms displayed the finished book cover as if it was available for purchase.

Penguin Random House India clarified that it held the sole publishing rights for the book and did not yet publish it in any form. "We wish to make it clear that the book did not go into publication. No copies of the book - in print or digital form - were published, distributed, sold, or otherwise made available to the public by Penguin Random House India," the publisher stated on X.

The controversy sparked a political row in Parliament, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi quoting from the book and alleging that the govt was preventing discussion on it.