Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Feb 10: The Delhi Police on Monday registered an FIR over the alleged circulation of an unpublished book authored by former Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane on social media, an official statement said.

The case was registered hours after a media report claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had accessed a copy of the former Army chief’s book, which was allegedly not cleared for publication by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier told Parliament that the book “does not exist.”

According to the police, it was reported that the required clearance for publishing the book is yet to be received from the competent authorities.

“Upon verification, it was found that a PDF copy of a type-set book with the same title, apparently prepared by M/s Penguin Random House India Pvt Ltd, is available on certain websites. Some online marketing platforms have also displayed the finished book cover as if it is available for purchase,” the police statement said.

The police said the case has been registered with the Special Cell to conduct a detailed investigation into the alleged leak or breach of a publication that has not yet received official approval.

“The investigation is being taken up,” the statement added.

The issue snowballed into a major political controversy after Rahul Gandhi was seen flashing a purported copy of the book inside the Parliament complex last week.

The matter led to repeated disruptions in the Lok Sabha, following which eight MPs were suspended for the remainder of the ongoing Budget session.

On Monday, Rahul Gandhi claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi avoided attending the Lok Sabha to reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address, alleging that the Prime Minister was “scared of the issue” surrounding former Army chief MM Naravane’s book.