Police Launch Global Probe into Book Leak

New Delhi: The Delhi Police Special Cell has launched a multi-nation investigation into the alleged leak of former Army chief General M.M. Naravane (retd)’s memoir ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, and is probing the possibility of a coordinated attempt to bypass mandatory clearances from the defence ministry, sources said on Thursday.

According to sources, the book entered global digital markets before receiving the mandatory clearance from the defence ministry. PTI reported that Delhi Police had questioned representatives of Penguin India as part of the investigation.

On Tuesday, Delhi Police registered an FIR under charges of criminal conspiracy in connection to the leak. The move followed questions over how an unpublished book reached Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Preliminary probe have suggested that the leak was not an isolated act of piracy but a “planned and coordinated operation” that bypassed official approval processes meant for defence-related publications.

Police were tracking digital and financial trails in the US, Canada, Germany and Australia, where the book was allegedly made available online prior to official clearance.

The book’s publisher, Penguin India, has clarified that the memoir was never published and no authorised copies exist.

Investigators have found that the leaked version of Naravane's memoir was not only circulated internationally but was first made available online in foreign markets.

It is suspected that the first leaks were allegedly uploaded on .io domain extensions linked to the British Ocean territory, following which they appeared on several other hosting platforms, an investigator said.

The digital trail is being examined to establish the origin and pattern of dissemination, he added.

Police are also analysing the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) -- a unique 13-digit identifier assigned to books -- which was visible on the leaked versions. Officials said the publisher is likely to be quizzed on how the ISBN-linked versions surfaced online before official publication.

The investigators will also examine the timing of the publisher's statement on microblogging site X. “The publisher will be asked why their statement was issued only after the FIR was registered and why the police were not approached immediately after the leak came to light,” a senior police officer said.