A Convenient Culprit
Ace crime journalist Joy Dutta is killed, and his arch rival, Jagruti Verma, is accused of using her alleged connection with the dreaded don Chikna Ramu to commit the murder.
Their mentor and ex-boss, Ammar Aney, whose exposés had earned him the respect of his fraternity, and whose enemies had conspired to destroy his personal and professional life, is
forced out of retirement to get justice for both Joy and Jagruti. As he delves deeper, Aney realizes that the culprits and their motives are more dangerous than he could have ever imagined.
Bard of Blood
About the Book
Delhi’s power circles are shocked to discover that ex-RAW chief Sadiq Sheikh has been murdered. Kabir Anand is settling into his new life as a professor of Shakespeare studies in Mumbai, when a call from the PMO thrusts him back into the world he is trying to forget. A brilliant agent who served under Sadiq Sheikh, Kabir was forced to leave RAW because of a disastrous mission in Balochistan in 2006-part of India’s covert support of the Baloch rebels. Kabir must now revisit those ghosts, avenge his mentor and face his deadliest enemies- Mullah Omar and the ISI-while racing against time to save his country.
A gripping thriller, researched with the assistance of the US and Indian intelligence agents, war correspondents and crime writer S. Hussain Zaidi.
Behind Bar In Byculla
In 2011, crime reporter Jigna Vora was arrested in connection to the murder of renowned journalist J. Dey. Seven years later, she was acquitted of all charges. This is her story in her own words—of the time she spent in jail and her experience of breaking many front-page stories. Her work brought her in contact with people like Himanshu Roy, the former ADGP of Maharashtra, while her time in jail put her in the company of Pragya Thakur, Jaya Chedda and many others. Her experiences reveal the intricate web of power dynamics that govern the inmates of a prison.
Jigna Vora is a crime reporter who has worked at Free Press Journal, Mid-day, Mumbai Mirror and Asian Age.
Bihar Diaries
Bihar Diaries narrates the thrilling account of how Amit Lodha arrested Samant Pratap, one of Bihar’s most feared ganglords, notorious for extortion, kidnapping and the massacre of scores of people. The book follows the adrenaline-fuelled chase that took place across three states during Amit’s tenure as superintendent of police of Shekhpura, a sleepy mofussil town in Bihar.
How does Amit navigate between his many professional challenges and conquer his demons? What does he do when the gangland comes after his family? Bihar Diaries captures vividly the battle of nerves between a dreaded outlaw and a young, urbane IPS officer.
Amit Lodha is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer presently holding the rank of inspector general (IG) of police. Over the course of his career, he has been a part of a number of successful operations, including the arrest of gangsters and rescue of kidnap victims. He has been awarded the prestigious President’ s Police Medal for Meritorious Service, the Police Medal for Gallantry and the Internal Security Medal for his work. Amit enjoys playing tennis and squash, and is an ardent fan of Kishore Kumar. He regularly writes for the Times of India blog. He can be reached on Facebook and Twitter.
Black friday
About the book
On the afternoon of 12 March 1993, a series of explosions cut a swathe of terror and destruction through Bombay. The toll: 257 killed or missing, 713 injured, and a city in a shambles.
In Black Friday, S. Hussain Zaidi takes us into the heart of the conspiracy which spanned several countries, and the massive investigation that ensued. A product of four years of meticulous research, the book gives chilling insights into the criminal mind, through interviews with close associates of Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon, among others. The characters we meet are compelling: the terrorists, the corrupt law enforcement agents who abetted the plot, the investigators who would stop at nothing, and, above all, the people of Bombay of whose resilient spirit this book is a celebration.
Dangerous Mind
Dangerous Minds
What makes terrorists so deadly? Are they brain washed or wrongly wired? These eight profiles of homegrown terrorists will debunk you of the notion about terrorists being trained in some jungles. Some of these men lead very ordinary and simple lives but for years they had been leading a double life with their subversive actions.
Dawood’s Mentor
About Dawood’s Mentor
Tired of being bullied, a scrawny, impoverished Dawood Ibrahim is looking for a saviour, Khalid Khan Bachcha, who would teach him the ropes of handling a bunch of hooligans. Instead, what he gets is a mentor who eventually transforms him into a cunning mafia boss.
In Dawood’s Mentor, Dawood meets Khalid and they eventually forge an unlikely friendship. Together they defeat, crush and neutralize every mafia gang in Mumbai. Khalid lays the foundation for the D-Gang as Dawood goes on to establish a crime syndicate like no other and becomes India’s most wanted criminal.
Dial D for Don
About the book
March 1993. Mumbai was rocked by a series of bomb blasts. Unknown to most, Dawood Ibrahim, the mastermind behind the terror attack, had made several calls to the CBI. The don was desperate to prove his ‘innocence’ by giving himself up, but with conditions.
October 1999. The world’s very first case of cricket match-fixing led to the banning of six top Indian cricketers, including the then team captain. It was only in 2013, after the then commissioner of police revived the case, that a charge sheet was filed in a court of law.
January 2002. Aftab Ansari-a notorious Dubai-based don responsible for kidnapping a shoe baron in 2001 with the help of Jihadi groups in Pakistan-was arrested just as he was about to escape Dubai on a forged passport to Pakistan.
All these cases of life-threatening moments and unbelievable relief, involved the sharp investigative skills of an Indian Police Service officer then serving in the CBI. In his thirty-seven years of service, Neeraj Kumar neutralized several terror modules and decimated insidious organized crime syndicates spanning continents, working closely with Interpol, FBI, Scotland Yard and several national and international agencies. Much decorated and feted, he hung up his boots in 2013, after his last calling as Delhi’s police commissioner. He has now decided that the inside details of what have been some of the most fascinating crime stories of our times must not go unheard and untold.
The book covers several high-profile cases cracked by him in recent years, including the arrest and deportation of Aftab Ansari, the main accused in the shooting at the American Center in Kolkata, the nabbing of Jagtar Singh Tara, the man behind Punjab CM Beant Singh’s assassination, and the arrest of Romesh Sharma, a Dawood henchman masquerading as a politician based in Delhi.
ESCAPED
About
ESCAPED : True Stories of Indian Fugitives in London
LONDON CALLING
London has emerged as a safe haven for those who want to escape the law in India. Through eyewitness accounts and archival records, DANISH KHAN and RUHI KHAN delve into twelve extraordinary cases of extradition over seven decades to unravel the legal quagmire that has caused much debate in Her Majesty’s courts, and consternation in New Delhi’s corridors of power.
Escaped examines the extradition of billionaire VIJAY MALLYA and diamantaire NIRAV MODI, throws a spotlight on their ultra-luxe world, uncovers the complex ownership of their UK assets and brings to life the intense courtroom battles. The book also chronicles the saga of cricket bookie SANJEEV CHAWLA, now dispatched to India, and that of music director NADEEM SAIFI, who has been exonerated but can never return home. It explores how drug lord IQBAL MIRCHI and terror accused HANIF PATEL evaded extradition, and investigates the loopholes that saved convicted paedophile RAYMOND VARLEY and NRI parents ARTI DHIR and KAVAL RAIJADA, accused of murdering their adopted child. The book reveals the inside story of how RAVI SHANKARAN, the alleged spy, was set free, and how the famed NARANG BROTHERS were snagged for trading in stolen Indian artefacts. Taking a trip through history, the book recounts how a newly independent India managed to bring back two powerful industrialists, DHARMA JAYANTI TEJA and MUBARAK ALI AHMED, who were involved in financial crimes.
Escaped decodes why London is an irresistible siren for Indian fugitives.
Fitness Secrets of the Stars
Ever wondered how Farhan Akhtar trained to play a professional athlete in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, or what diet plan Aamir Khan followed to maintain those rock-hard abs in Dhoom 3? If yes, this is the book for you. Veteran journalists Ram Kamal Mukherjee and Devyani Ghosh interview the fitness trainers behind the amazing physiques of Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Bipasha Basu, Farhan Akhtar, Tiger Shroff, Priyanka Chopra, Varun Dhawan, Sonu Sood and Dev.
With detailed daily workouts, diets and plans followed by these actors for specific roles, this book will show you how to get in shape like your favourite movie star. The authors also provide a peek into each star’s fitness philosophy along with interesting personal anecdotes and the ways in which they motivate themselves to not only achieve great bodies but also maintain them. Whether you’re just starting your fitness journey or looking to ramp it up a notch, this book is sure to help you look like a star.
Born in Kolkata, Ram Kamal Mukherjee started his career as a film journalist twenty years ago with the Asian Age. Later, he shifted base to Mumbai and worked with publications such as Stardust, Mumbai Mirror (the Times of India Group), Mid-Day, Anandabazar Patrika and the TV18 group. He headed Stardust- India’s leading film magazine-as its editor-in-chief. He also has a popular Sunday column-‘Ram Katha’-in Mumbai Mirror, and has hosted the Bengali chat show Talk Bangla, which featured thirteen Bollywood celebrities. In 2005, Ram authored a coffee-table book on Hema Malini, Diva Unveiled. He was the vice president of Pritish Nandy Communications for over a dozen feature films. He co-produced the Hindi TV show Bin Kuch Kahe for Zee TV in 2016, and published his first work of fiction, Long Island Iced Tea, in the same year. His authorized biography of Bollywood’s legendary actress Hema Malini, Beyond the Dream Girl, has fetched him national and international accolades.
Devyani G. Ghosh’s interest in writing goes way back to her schooldays in Baghdad International School, Iraq, where she won a prize in a prestigious international essay contest in the tenth grade. The scholarship money from the contest funded her English (honours) education in Presidency College, Kolkata. During her last year in college she interned at the Asian Age and discovered that journalism was her calling. Working at the Indian Express in Mumbai and, later, being the Mumbai correspondent for the Pioneer, Delhi, brought her into close contact with the world of Bollywood, as did a short stint as an interviewer with Zee Music.
Ghalib Danger
The first novel from Neeraj Pandey, Ghalib Danger takes us on a journey of the Mumbai Underworld in a fast-paced tale.
The chief protagonist of the book is a cocky young taxi driver in the city of Mumbai called Kamran Ali. Like most others in the city, he dreams of making it big some day. But his life takes a turn for the worse when by accident, he saves the life of an underworld don Mirza. He is indebted to Kamran for his timely intervention and as an act of gratitude, decides to take him under his wings. Kamran’s life transforms completely as he embraces guns and bullets. He gets drawn into the don’s ugly and murky world of cops and rival gangsters.
Kamran inherits the don’s empire eventually and along with it, he also inherits one of his traits. This trait happens to be the don’s belief that the solution to every problem lies in Ghalib’s poetry. Kamran finds great solace in poetry and Ghalib’s work keeps him from going insane. Because of this, Kamran gets a new nickname. As he is rising to the top of the gang, he has cops, politicians and many others on tenterhooks. Soon, he becomes the city’s most-feared gangster with a poetic name, Ghalib Danger.
Neeraj Pandey is a critically-acclaimed Indian director. His film A Wednesday won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director. He also won a lot of praise for his film, Special 26, which he directed in 2013. He hails from a Brahmin Bihari family and grew up in Kolkata. In 2013, he launched his first book, Ghalib Danger.
Khaki Files
December 13, 2001: Pak-based terrorists carry out an audacious attack on the Indian Parliament killing eight security personnel and a gardener; all five terrorists are killed in their gun-battle with policemen deployed at the citadel of Indian democracy; the case is solved and all accused arrested within 72 hours.
December 16, 2012: a 23-year-old physiotherapist is brutally gang raped in a moving bus in Delhi; the case is cracked within five days despite the lack of initial leads; a head constable loses his life in the line of duty during riots that follow the dastardly crime.
In Khaki Files, Neeraj Kumar, a former Delhi Police Commissioner revisits many such high profile police cases of his career —from investigation of one of the biggest lottery frauds in the country to foiled ISI attempt to kill Tarun Tejpal and Anirudh Behal of Tehalka—bringing to light numerous achievements of the country’s police force, otherwise largely reviled and ridiculed
Neeraj Kumar is the former Commissioner of Police, Delhi, and the author of Dial D for Don: Inside Stories of CBI Missions.
Neeraj Kumar is the former Commissioner of Police, Delhi, and the author of Dial D for Don: Inside Stories of CBI Missions.
Kidnapped
In 2016, approximately ten people were abducted every hour in India. Of them, six were children. Kidnapping is a crime where it is possibility to save the victim, which makes its treatment and results unique. Documenting ten cases of child abduction from across the country, Arita Sarkar investigates the bone-chilling details of the disappearance of each child. She delves into the trauma that the victims’ families went through, as they waited in the hope that their children would return.
This book brings to life investigations by the police, eyewitness accounts and the perspectives of the accused, recreating each case in painstaking detail.Some of the victims you read about will never come home, but their stories will stay with you.
Arita Sarkar is a journalist based out of Mumbai. Since 2011, she has been a reporter at The Hindu, Mumbai Mirror, the Indian Express and Mid-Day. Her interest in cases concerning the Juvenile Justice Act, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and child rehabilitation led her to research and write a book about the widespread kidnapping of children in India.
After completing her schooling from the American International School/Dhaka, she graduated from Delhi University with a degree in English literature and later attended the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai. Apart from being a writer, she is an ardent lover of music and food and loves to dabble in a bit of both.
Life In The Uniform
About The Book
Amit Lodha is a decorated IPS officer holding the rank of inspector general. But before he rose the ranks in the service, he was an IIT graduate who was struggling to find his true purpose. In this book, Lodha tells us how he turned his life around and studied for the UPSC exams. He also tells us how he trained to be an officer and had the most memorable beginning to his career, in Bihar.
Punctuated with his signature humour and adventure-packed stories on everything from solving a kidnapping to handling a mob, Life in the Uniform gives us a chance to experience an IPS officer’s life through his own eyes.
Me against The Mumbai Underworld
On some days, you are no less than Sherlock Holmes. But on others, you are just a regular policeman on bundobast duty.
Me against the Mumbai Underworld is the story of Isaque Bagwan, three-time recipient of the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry and a small-town boy who pursued his big-city dreams and ambitions as an upright police officer. Bagwan, who is credited with carrying out the first encounter in the history of Mumbai Police, was witness to several of the city’s defining moments-the 1980s when smuggling was at an all- time high, the blasts that tore through Bombay in the ’90s, the gang wars that marked the city, and the devastating 26/11 terror attack. His life, which has captured the imagination of many writers and filmmakers, is presented here with all its gut-wrenching details.
Isaque Ibrahim Bagwan retired as an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in May 2009 after serving in Mumbai Police for over thirty-five years. He was awarded the prestigious President’s Police Medal for Gallantry thrice. As per Mumbai Police records, he is the first officer from the force to have killed a criminal in an encounter. He is also the first police officer to shoot at and apprehend a criminal during proceedings in a sessions court in Mumbai.
Bagwan was also praised for his quick thinking and valour, which saved hundreds of lives, by the Pradhan Committee Report that looked into the 26/11 terror attack. He had taken charge of Nariman House during the deadly attack and restricted the terrorists’ movements for over sixteen hours with just twelve men. He also assisted in ensuring the safety of people in the buildings around Nariman House until NSG commandos arrived.
Murder in Bollywood
Someone at this table has killed before, and someone at this table will kill again.’ Nikhil Kapoor, Bollywood’s biggest film director, made this shocking proclamation to his friends one night. Sameer Ali Khan, Bollywood’s badshah, seethed with rage. Nyra Oberoi, filmdom’s queenin- waiting, turned her face away. Ishan Malhotra, producer extraordinaire, laughed out loud, while Kiki Fernandez, dress designer to the stars, looked afraid. Two nights later, both Nikhil and his wife, leading actress Mallika Kapoor, were found dead. It is up to Senior Inspector Hoshiyar Khan to solve the puzzle.
Shadaab Amjad Khan is a Bollywood actor and scriptwriter by profession, hailing from one of the oldest film families in the country, with its most famous member being his father, the late actor Amjad Khan. Shadaab made his acting debut with the film Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat, after which he starred in several films, while also working behind the scenes as a scriptwriter, before finally moving on to his long cherished dream of turning a novelist. Shadaab lives in Mumbai with his wife, Rumana, and is planning to make his directorial debut soon.