Fiction

                                 Shashi Tharoor releases the new book of Rajat Gupta

Rajat Gupta recently started serving his prison sentence. Before entering the low-security prison, he assured his admirers that when the two-year term is over he would author a book detailing his account of the insider transactions probed by the SEC and his innocence in the matter.

You can expect an ex-McKinseyite to deliver on his promise in time. But, wow! He had already completed his book. The book meaningfully titled, “White man’s lackey: The Rise of Preet Bharara and the Fall of American judicial system”, was released in Thiruvananthapuram by Shashi Tharoor even as the author was getting into prison situated very near where Raj Rajaratnam was lodged.

While releasing the book, the former minister empathised with Rajat Gupta saying, “We are birds of the same feather. So we understand each other well. I know how it feels when the entire world blames you for a crime and only you know that you are innocent.”

What if the entire world knows that you are guilty of a crime and only you claim that you are innocent?

Rajat Gupta's blunder?

Rajat Gupta's conviction on insider trading charges has been confirmed by a three-judge panel of the appeals court causing yet another blow to his plans to prove his innocence.

The allegation against the former McKinsey chief is that he divulged confidential and price-sensitive information to Raj Rajaratnam of the Galleon Fund. Gupta's lawyers argue, either at his instance or atleast with his approval, that he was furious with Raj Rajaratnam for cheating him in a joint investment fund and therefore he would not have leaked any beneficial information to Rajaratnam. This argument is a curious admission that under normal circumstances Gupta could have leaked price-sensitive information. The defense team has demeaned itself and in the process weakened its case.