Book excerpt: August 1773, Shaniwar Wada On a fateful day, the capital palace of Marathas in Poona was drenched in the blood of its own Peshwa. Marathas were still recovering from the untimely death of Peshwa Madhavrao when the sensational murder of Peshwa Narayanrao shook the empire. The political conspiracy and the murder divided the empire into two factions and brought it on the verge of a civil war. Unfazed by the threats and political pressure, Ram Shastri Prabhune, the chief justice of the Marathas, initiated the investigation into the murder of the Peshwa. Who murdered Peshwa Narayanrao? Who was the mastermind behind the conspiracy? Did Ram Shastri manage to deliver justice? What happened to the Peshwai after Peshwa Narayanrao? Inspired from true events, this is the true account of some sensational murders at Shaniwar Wada and the landmark trial by Ram Shastri Prabhune.