Author Sharmishtha Shenoy unveiled her latest true-crime book ‘Candle in the Wind’ in Hyderabad. The collection draws from real police case files to portray crimes against women and children with empathy. The event highlighted the need for awareness, sensitivity, and collective responsibility in ensuring justice and safety

Sharmishtha Shenoy’s latest work ‘Candle in the Wind’ was unveiled in Hyderabad with a heartfelt keynote by Shikha Goel, IPS, who wrote the foreword. Speaking with rare candour, she highlighted the importance of sensitivity in retelling crimes against women and children, underlining that such narratives must lead to awareness and collective responsibility.

At the State Gallery of Art, Madhapur, the atmosphere was both solemn and celebratory as Sharmishtha Shenoy, bestselling author of the Vikram Rana Mystery series, launched her latest book ‘Candle in the Wind’. Chief Guest Shikha Goel, IPS, DG & Director - Telangana Cyber Security Bureau & Forensic Science Laboratory, unveiled the book in the presence of literary enthusiasts and dignitaries.

The collection brings alive five chilling true crime stories inspired by Hyderabad Police case files—ranging from child kidnappings to crimes of passion and institutional betrayal. “When Sharmishtha approached me a couple of years ago to write about our cases, I was skeptical,” Goel recalled. “These incidents are deeply personal, and by law we cannot reveal names. But I realized her intention was not to sensationalise. She wanted to portray them with empathy, and that could serve a larger purpose.”

Goel spoke of how crime reporting often strips away humanity. “We tend to forget there is a life behind every case, a family destroyed, a person whose future is shattered. In today’s breaking-news culture, that sensitivity is lost. This book brings it back.”

The stories—’The Kidnapping of Baby Ishitha,’ ‘Innocence Robbed,’ ‘Unrequited Love,’ ‘In the Name of the Children, and I Will Never Let You Go’—revisit difficult investigations. For Goel, reading them was an emotional experience. “It brought back sadness, grief, anger, but also a renewed determination to keep working for victims. Telangana has done a lot, but much more remains. Protection of women and children cannot be the police’s responsibility alone—it must be a collective responsibility.”

The author, too, views the book as a catalyst. “While the law takes its course, society needs transformation,” Shenoy said. “This book gives hope to those who fear speaking up, reminding them that their voices matter and justice is possible.”

Panel discussions moderated by Prof. Usha Raman, alongside voices like Prof. T Vijay Kumar and Kingshuk Nag, echoed the call for empathy and awareness. Social activists K Satyavathi and Dr Mamatha Raghuveer Achanta were felicitated for their contributions to women’s empowerment.

Ultimately, ‘Candle in the Wind’ is positioned not merely as reportage but as a call to action. “It should prick our conscience and inspire us to act,” Goel urged. “Safety of women must become a way of life—starting at home, in schools, and in everyday behaviour. Only then will a girl stop looking over her shoulder.”

(L-R) Prof. T.Vijay Kumar, BITS Pilani and Director, HLF; Chief Guest Ms. Shikha Goel, IPS DG & Director Telangana Cyber Security Bureau & Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL); Ms. Sharmishtha Shenoy, Author of ‘Candle in the Wind’ & Prof. Usha Raman, University of Hyderabad and Director, HLF; unveiling the book ‘Candle in the Wind’ - Real Life Stories of Crime Against Women and Children; authored by Sharmishtha Shenoy, popular for the Vikram Rana Mystery Series & bestselling Indian author of crime fiction and psychological thrillers; today at State Gallery of Art, Madhapur. The book is published by Rupa Publications and released under the aegis of Hyderabad Literary Festival.