New Delhi, June 19: A newsmaker and a news-breaker, Tehelka journalist Aniruddha Bahal today made his debut as a novelist as his book "Bunker 13"--a thriller encompassing a large canvass of drug trade and corruption in the establishment--was released here today. A second person narrative, 'Bunker 13', takes the reader through the life of a disgraced, self-destructive ex-army cadet who is also a shrewd reporter trying to achieve what he wants by any means, Bahal said. The novel has no connection with the Tehelka expose, Bahal said, adding he started writing the book in 1996 when the portal was not even born.

"It is also not written to give details of the corruption in the country because it is a fact that fiction cannot have the same impact as a newspaper headline or a news clipping," said the author who was a key member of the sting "Operation West End" which produced an expose into corruption in defence deals.
The book, which was released earlier in the US and the UK, has received applauding response there, with the observer equating it with the all-time great 'The Naked And The Dead' of Norman Mailer. The Scotland on Sunday said "Hyperbole is never in short supply in the publishing industry but the hype surrounding Bahal's debut novel is, for once, richly deserved."
Bureau Report