New Delhi: The Delhi Police Monday registered an FIR to probe the alleged circulation of a yet-to-be published memoir of former Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane.
The case, lodged by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, comes days after excerpts from the book, titled ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, created a furore in Parliament. Gen Naravane’s book is currently awaiting clearance by the Army. As a rule, all books written on operational matters by veterans or serving officers have to be cleared by the services concerned.
Last week, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi cited an excerpt from the book published in The Caravan magazine to mount an attack against the Modi government, accusing them of shrugging off responsibility in the face of Chinese aggression in Ladakh in the summer of 2020.
A Delhi Police spokesperson said it had taken cognisance of several reports and social media posts claiming that a pre-print of the book was being circulated.
“It was also reported that the necessary clearance for publication of this book is yet to be received from the relevant authorities,” the Delhi Police spokesperson said in a statement.
The police further said that it had found PDF copies of a type-set book with the same title on certain websites. Additionally, it said that “some online marketing platforms have displayed the finished book cover as if it is available for purchase”.
“In order to carry out a thorough investigation into this purported leak/breach of a yet to be approved publication, a case has been registered with the Special Cell and investigation is being taken up,” the Delhi Police spokesperson said.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)