Former Army Chief General MM Narvane’s unpublished book ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, which was at the centre of last week’s Parliament face-off between Rahul Gandhi and the Government, has leaked online, prompting the Delhi Police to register an FIR.
According to Delhi Police officials, a pre-print copy of General Narvane’s ‘Four Stars of Destiny’ is being circulated online in PDF format. The Delhi Police Special Cell has filed a case into the “purported leak/breach of a yet-to-be-approved publication.”
The pre-print book ‘Four Stars of Destiny’ is the autobiography of former Army Chief MM Naravane. The publication of the book was allegedly put on hold days before its launch. The book is currently under the review of the Defence Ministry.
“Delhi Police took cognisance of information found on various online social media platforms and news forums, which claimed that a pre-print copy of the book ‘Four Stars of Destiny’ is being circulated. It was also reported that the necessary clearance for the publication of this book is yet to be received from the relevant authorities,” a Delhi Police official said.
“Upon verification, it was found that a PDF copy of a typeset book with the same title, apparently prepared by M/S Penguin Random House India Pvt. Limited, is available on certain websites, and some online marketing platforms have displayed the finished book cover as if it is available for purchase,” the official added.
Police said that 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 an investigation is being taken up.”
A political row had erupted after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sought to quote from the unpublished book during his speech in Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks on the President’s Address, with the treasury benches strongly opposing his remarks.
Rahul alleged that Narvane has revealed in his memoir that Chinese tanks entered Indian territory during the 2020 Ladakh conflict, but the Narendra Modi-led regime was apparently not decisive in its decision-making.
After facing several adjournments on the issue, the House last week adopted the motion of thanks by voice vote amid sloganeering by Opposition benches.