Delhi police questioned representatives of Penguin India as part of its investigation into the alleged leak of the unpublished memoir of retired army chief General M. M. Naravane, sources said on Thursday.

Authorities are probing whether the leak was part of a coordinated attempt to bypass mandatory clearances from the defence ministry.

The special cell of Delhi police had earlier issued a notice to the publisher seeking responses to around 15 questions and visited their Gurugram office on Wednesday. On Thursday, company representatives were called in for questioning.

They provided responses to some queries and sought time to answer others, sources said. Police added that the answers are being analysed and further questioning of management and publishing representatives is likely.

Investigators have invoked sections related to criminal conspiracy in the FIR, suspecting that the leak may not have been accidental.

The probe focuses on the alleged sale or distribution of pre-print copies in countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, sources said.

It is suspected that the first leaks were allegedly uploaded on .io domain extensions linked to the British Ocean territory, after 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. Police are also analysing the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) 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. Investigators will also look into 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.

The case concerns the alleged circulation of a PDF version of Naravane's unpublished memoir on social media and online platforms before mandatory clearances for publication were obtained.

Police had earlier said a typeset PDF bearing the same title was found on certain websites, while some online platforms were allegedly displaying the finished book cover, suggesting it was available for purchase.

The FIR was registered earlier this week after allegations surfaced about unauthorised dissemination of the manuscript.

The controversy intensified after excerpts from the memoir were read out in the Lok Sabha by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, triggering a political row.

In its earlier statement, Penguin Random House India said the book has not gone into publication and that “no copies, either print or digital, have been released, distributed or sold by the company.”