is proud to announce the publication of
The Stolen Necklace
by Shevlin Sebastian and V.K. Thajudheen
Releasing 17 May 2023
ABOUT THE BOOK
When V.K. Thajudheen, a middle-aged man working in Doha, returned to his hometown, Kannur, after a few years, little did he know that instead of celebrating his daughter’s summer wedding he would be put behind bars for stealing a gold necklace.
The local police, smug at apprehending a criminal in record time, wanted a confession to lock it in. Horrified and bewildered, Thajudheen showed proof that he had been busy with the wedding at the time of the crime. But all proof he provided crumbled in the face of the CCTV footage from that day, for it showed clearly that it was Thajudheen on the scooter, riding away from the crime scene. But how could he be in two places at the same time?
And so started a cat-and-mouse game between Thajudheen and the police—the former trying to prove his innocence and the latter hell-bent on pinning the crime on Thajudheen. The media caught whiff of this case and the whole of Kannur was talking about it.
The Stolen Necklace might seem to about a small crime in a small town, but with its incredible twists and turns, it is ultimately the story of a common man who fought the system and pulled off a miraculous victory.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Shevlin Sebastian has been a journalist for over three decades. He has worked in major publications such as The Hindustan Times (Mumbai), The New Indian Express and The Week (both in Kochi) and Sportsworld (Kolkata). Shevlin has published over 4,500 feature articles on subjects like history, spirituality, literature, films and sports. His blog, ‘Shevlin’s World’, has received over 23 lakh hits. He has also published four novels for children.
V.K. Thajudheen was born in Kannur, north Kerala. After his BCom degree from Calicut University, he worked in Kannur, Mumbai, Dubai and Dammam. Thereafter, for ten years, he was a businessman in Doha, Qatar. He returned to India in 2019 and presently works for the textile company Urban Design in Bengaluru. He is the father of two boys and a girl.
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Talking about the book, Bushra Ahmed, Senior Commissioning Editor at HarperCollins India, says ‘we hear of such instances over and over again in the news: wrongful arrests, corporal punishment, delay of justice, crooked cops, and ordinary people who are just trying to live their lives affected by all of this. The Stolen Necklace is the aching story of Thajudeen, a man who lost everything in his quest for justice, for a crime he never committed. Set in a small town in Kerala, Shevlin Sebastian, has written an incredible account of what happened with the sharp eye of a reporter who has followed this case from the beginning. In many ways, Thajudeen is the Everyman we hear and see around us in India, and his story is a reminder that these things can happen to anyone.’
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For review copies, interviews, excerpts or more information, please write to: nandini.tripathi@harpercollins.co.in
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