What do you think?
Rate this book
Fallen City: A Double Murder, Political Insanity, and Delhi’s Descent from Grace
In late August 1978, Geeta and Sanjay Chopra stepped out of their home in a quiet neighbourhood in Delhi. Geeta had to record a programme at All India Radio. Her younger brother Sanjay accompanied her. The two teenagers disappeared. Four days later, their disfigured bodies would be found by cowherds in a deserted corner of the Ridge, a thickly forested area on the western outskirts of the city. The brutal killing of the children traumatized the city and transfixed the nation. The prime minister had to answer questions about the crime in parliament and police forces in numerous states were mobilized to hunt down the killers.
In this first full-length book about the murder and its aftermath, bestselling author and journalist Sudeep Chakravarti, a longtime resident of New Delhi, remembers the horrific crime using eyewitness accounts, archival research, court records, and original interviews that shed fresh light on the tragedy.
The murder of Geeta and Sanjay Chopra took place during an exceptionally unsettled phase in the history of the Indian capital in modern times. Just a few years earlier, in the mid-1970s, Indira Gandhi’s Emergency had terrorized many sections of the population, and just a few years later, in 1984, the city would be convulsed again by a pogrom against Sikhs following the assassination of Indira. Against this background of blood and vengeance, the author’s exploration of the murder of the Chopra siblings, the hunt for their killers, and the sadness and trauma of those grim days will take the reader on a compelling and unputdownable journey through the darkness that settled on Delhi.
In this first full-length book about the murder and its aftermath, bestselling author and journalist Sudeep Chakravarti, a longtime resident of New Delhi, remembers the horrific crime using eyewitness accounts, archival research, court records, and original interviews that shed fresh light on the tragedy.
The murder of Geeta and Sanjay Chopra took place during an exceptionally unsettled phase in the history of the Indian capital in modern times. Just a few years earlier, in the mid-1970s, Indira Gandhi’s Emergency had terrorized many sections of the population, and just a few years later, in 1984, the city would be convulsed again by a pogrom against Sikhs following the assassination of Indira. Against this background of blood and vengeance, the author’s exploration of the murder of the Chopra siblings, the hunt for their killers, and the sadness and trauma of those grim days will take the reader on a compelling and unputdownable journey through the darkness that settled on Delhi.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 5, 2024
3 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 18, 2024
I was confused if I should give this book 3 stars or 4, but I have to give an extra star just for writing a book on this horrific crime. You can see the effort in the research, but I expected more. But it is also true that writers face a dearth of resources when it comes to archive material in independent India.
I thought the writing needed a different approach than what the author has taken to keep it more engaging.
I thought the writing needed a different approach than what the author has taken to keep it more engaging.
Displaying 1 of 1 review