Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Delhi Police’s special cell questioned some members of the publishing team at Penguin Random House India on Thursday in connection with the alleged leak of former Army chief General (retd) MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir.The interrogation, which came a day after investigators issued notice to the publishing firm, lasted two hours. There could be another round of questioning based on the findings of the first session, sources said.Police have sought the original manuscript of the book, ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, from Penguin Random House India to compare it with the versions that surfaced online. The publishers have been handed a set of 15 to 20 questions to answer, including on the steps they took after learning of the alleged leak.“A team led by a DCP-rank officer asked the publishers about their standard operating procedure while handling a book and the details of people who had access to the manuscript of this particular book written by the former Army chief. We also asked the publishers why they did not lodge a complaint immediately after the so-called leak came to their notice,” a person in the know said.Penguin Random House India has said the firm holds sole publishing rights to the book and hasn’t released it in any form. The probe is focused on the alleged sale or distribution of the pre-print copy in countries like the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. Police suspect the leak was a coordinated effort to bypass the defence ministry’s clearance. The special cell has added the charge of “hatching a criminal conspiracy” to the FIR. Police are also analysing the International Standard Book Number (ISBN).
