Delhi Police registered a case on Monday over the leak of an unpublished copy of ‘Four Stars of Destiny,’ the memoir of former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, following reports that the book was circulating online without the mandatory clearances. The police took cognisance of information on social media and news forums claiming that a preprint version of the book was in circulation, even though official approval for its publication had not yet been granted by the competent authorities.
Upon verification, it was found that a PDF copy of a type-set book with the same title, and apparently prepared by Penguin Random House India Pvt. Limited, was available on certain websites. Besides, some online marketing platforms have displayed the finished book cover as if it is available for purchase, following which the Special Cell of Delhi Police registered a case in order to carry out a thorough investigation into this purported leak of a yet-to-be-approved publication. The book is pending for approval with the Ministry of Defence.
Gen MM Naravane served as India’s Chief of Army Staff from December 2019 to April 2022.
The FIR was registered a week after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen flashing a purported copy of the book in the Parliament complex. The Leader of the Opposition was not allowed to quote from excerpts of the unpublished memoir, which has alleged references to the India-China conflict of 2020.
The issue sparked a huge political row and led to disruptions of the Lok Sabha proceedings, and eight MPs were suspended over the issue for the remaining part of the ongoing budget session.
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