Police question Penguin officials in former Army chief memoir leak case

A team of the Delhi Police special cell quizzed officials of Penguin Random House India in connection with the alleged leak of former Army Chief General MM Naravane’s memoir ‘Four Stars of Destiny’. According to a source, the questioning lasted for around two hours and the team asked around 15 questions to the company’s representatives.

The source mentioned that the officials gave answers to some of the questions, while sought time for replying to the remaining posers.“Now the answers will be analysed at length to ascertain how the book landed on social media,” the source added.

Meanwhile, the police had added the charges “hatching a criminal conspiracy” in the FIR registered at Special cell police station. The FIR came in the backdrop of the book doing rounds on social media as well as pre-print copies being circulated in PDF as well as hard copy version.

The cops are likely to issue notices to platforms, including Meta and X, where the copies were widely circulated. General Naravane’s book has drawn attention for its reported disclosures on sensitive issues, including the 2020 India-China border standoff and the Agnipath recruitment scheme.

The book is currently under review by the Ministry of Defence, with reports suggesting it reveals internal differences within the Armed Forces and policy-making circles, raising wider questions about disclosure norms for retired military officers.

Meanwhile, Penguin Random House India (PRHI), the publisher of ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, a memoir by former Chief of Army Staff Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane, on Monday clarified that no copies of the book — either in print or digital format — have been published, distributed or sold.