What is life like inside Asia’s largest prison? What happens when a man is hanged, but his pulse refuses to give up even after two hours? Did Nirbhaya’s rapist, Ram Singh, commit suicide or was he murdered? For the first time we have a riveting account from an insider who has spent close to four decades as an officer at Tihar Jail during some of the most turbulent times in Indian political history. For the first time he breaks his silence about all he’s seen – from the first man he met in Tihar, Charles Sobhraj, to the controversies surrounding former CBI head, Alok Verma. Responsible for carrying out ‘Black Warrants’, Gupta witnessed 14 hangings, the most recent and his last, being that of Afzal Guru. Joining him is award-winning journalist Sunetra Choudhury whose recent book Behind Bars is a bestseller and took her deep inside the maze of prisons. Read this book for the most intimate and raw account of India’s judicial and criminal justice system.

"The share auto I squeeze into next seems unusually vulnerable after a night in the truck - too compact, too low down. Perhaps, these are the usual side effects of prolonged riding with the king of the road, I think to myself. But it is only when I fill in ‘truck’ as my mode of transportation in the hotel ledger at Udaipur does the utter ludicrousness of my endeavour truly hit home" Think truck drivers, and movie scenes of them drunkenly crushing inconvenient people to their gravelly deaths come to mind. But what are their lives on the road actually like? In Truck De India!, journalist Rajat Ubhaykar embarks on a 10,000 km-long, 100% unplanned trip, hitchhiking with truckers all across India. On the way, he makes unexpected friendships; listens to highway ghost stories; discovers the near-fatal consequences of overloading trucks; documents the fascinating tradition of truck art in Punjab; travels alongside nomadic shepherds in Kashmir; encounters endemic corruption repeatedly; survives NH39, the insurgent-ridden highway through Nagaland and Manipur; and is unfailingly greeted by the unconditional kindness of perfect strangers. Imbued with humour, empathy, and a keen sense of history, Truck De India! is a travelogue like no other you've read. It is the story of India, and Indians, on the road.

Tales from the Jail is a funny, moving and poignant account of an outsider’s encounters with the inmates of Tihar Jail. This unforgettable collection of short stories will give you a rare glimpse into the world of prisons and the lives of its inhabitants. It will take you on a personal journey through Tihar and introduce you to some of its most memorable characters. Most of all, it will give you hope. “The book is inspiring. It deeply touches sensitive aspects of human relationships and ends with a note of guarded optimism for elevation of the human mind and spirit.” – Soli Sorabjee, Former Attorney-General of India

True Stories of Convicts Facing the Death Penalty A RARE GLIMPSE INTO THE COMPLEX MINDS OF KILLERS. In the Shadow of Death is a retired CID chief’s quest to understand the psyche of death row prisoners. In this chilling account, D. V. Guruprasad delves deep into the world of crime to uncover who these convicts are and how they view the charges against them. In India, capital punishment is awarded only in the ‘rarest of rare’ cases; the gruesome murders covered in this book will convince you that they fit the description. Criminals featured in this book are as varied as they can come and so are their crimes: a serial killer who targeted young women, a savage gang that terrorized a metropolis, a runaway woman who took to murder as an easy way to survive, a constable with a deadly fetish … As these prisoners stare death in the face, do they experience the crippling “death row syndrome”? Do they fear the impending execution and the uncertainty about their final day on earth? Do they regret their past deeds? There’s also the view from the other end of the rope—a peek into a hangman’s typical preparations before a hanging—making this a gripping read. “The impairment of reality sense, the lack of thought for the future, the denial of unpleasant facts and possibilities, an almost delusional belief in his own cleverness and ability to escape detection are characteristic of many criminals.” MELITTA SCHMIDEBERG, Psychologist

The murders that gripped the nation Seven years ago a teenage girl, Aarushi Talwar, was found murdered in her bedroom in Noida, a middle-class suburb of Delhi. The body of the prime suspect—the family servant, Hemraj—was discovered a day later. Who had committed the double murders, and why? Within weeks, Aarushi’s parents, the Talwars, were accused; four years later, they went on trial and were convicted. But did they do it? Avirook Sen attended the trial, accessed important documents and interviewed all the players—from Aarushi’s friends to Hemraj’s old boss, from the investigators to the forensic scientists—to write a meticulous and chilling book that reads like a thriller but also tells a story that is horrifyingly true. Aarushi is the definitive account of a sensational crime, and the investigation and trial that followed.