Opposition leaders in India are demanding explanations after photos of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri with convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein began circulating on social media earlier this week. Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi alleged that the photos had been released a day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s India visit as “blackmail”.
“Rubio goes to Mumbai. The US DOJ releases a picture of Epstein and Puri. Dear BJP and RSS workers, which anti-national traitor do you think they're blackmailing?” Rahul said on October 21.
However, the photos are from dataset 9 released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in January. At least 10 photos taken at various angles show Epstein and Puri seated at a table, seemingly alone, deep in conversation with each other.
The photos appear to contradict Puri’s claim in February that he had only met Epstein as part of a delegation.
In a statement to The Wire, Puri’s office claimed that the minister could not recall, almost ten years later, which meeting the photograph showed or whether others were present before or after it was taken.
Puri’s office also told The Wire, “Far from revealing anything new, the photographs bear out what he has consistently said: these were working meetings, held across a table with notes and papers, in a professional setting and attire.”
During a press conference in February, Puri had claimed, “My boss in the IPI [International Peace Institute], Mr Terje Rød-Larsen, was the person who knew this particular infamous person, Mr Epstein. It was as part of a delegation of the IPI or ICM [International Commision of Multilateralism] that I met Mr Epstein on a few occasions.”
Puri had added that at the time of these interactions, he had been only a private citizen.
Terje Rød-Larsen, who is also mentioned in the Epstein files, and his wife, Mona Juul, are top Norwegian diplomats who were investigated in Norway for financial crimes.
Case background
Epstein was a wealthy American financier. Between 2005 and 2007, accusations of him sexually abusing multiple underage girls surfaced. But his lawyers secured him a deal with the US Attorney’s office in 2008.
Epstein was released 13 months later after he accepted two charges of solicitation and registered as a sex offender. His 18-month sentence was reduced to 13 months, served out a minimum security prison from which he was allowed to leave for 12 hours a day.
In 2019, Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges and died by suicide in an FBI prison while awaiting trial.
On January 30 the DOJ released the largest tranche of the Epstein Files, containing over 3 million (30 lakh) pages and almost half a million images. The documents were the latest evidence to show Epstein's global power-borkering network.
Among the prominent figures in the files were Indians like businessman Anil Ambani, wellness guru Deepak Chopra and Puri, who is now Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas
Puri in the Epstein Files
Emails released in the January dataset show multiple exchanges between Epstein and Puri. In September 2014, Epstein introduced Puri to LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and described him as “your man in India”.
At the time, Puri was a retired diplomat and a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member. Hoffman replied, “Hardeep, very nice to meet you. Jeffrey has exquisite taste in people (myself excepted).”
After Puri met Hoffman, he sent a detailed email in November 2014 to both Epstein and Hoffman about investment opportunities in India’s internet sector. The documents also show Puri met Epstein at least thrice at his Manhattan townhouse.
A December 2014 email from Puri to Epstein describes the notorious Little St James as an “exotic island” and asks when the latter would be back home. Puri added that he would like to “come across for a chat” after Epstein returns.
Little St James in the US Virgin Islands is the property most closely tied to Epstein. Often simply referred to as Epstein Island, a number of crimes, including rape, are alleged to have happened there.
At the February 11 press conference, Puri had said, “Some of them want to know about that … what is that island called? … I didn’t go there, unfortunately for some of them. If I had gone there … there was a plane also, yaar. It had a very interesting name.”
Epstein’s private jet, a Boeing 727, was nicknamed the ‘Lolita Express’. It is believed to have been used extensively for trafficking minor girls. The plane’s name is a reference to the 12-year-old character of Lolita, who is abducted and sexually abused in Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 novel of the same name.
On December 25, Rød-Larsen and Epstein communicated over a forwarded email from Puri. “Two-faced”, Epstein wrote. Rød-Larsen replied, “Have you heard the saying: when you meet an Indian and a snake, kill the Indian first! (sic)”
Epstein responded, "The question is how do you tell one from the other?"
Opposistion reactions
Apart from Rahul Gandhi’s statement, demands for answers have been mounting since the photos went viral on social media.
Nationalist Congress Party - Sharadchandra Pawar Spokesperson Anish Gawande said “these are damning photos," and asked Puri to explain why he met Epstein, even in an ambassadorial capacity.
“I am given to understand that the Government of India will try and justify this engagement as ‘diplomatic necessity’. However, the terms and content of these discussions must now be made public,” Anish further said.
Adding that he is certain Puri was unaware of “the horrors of Epstein Island”, Anish urged the minister to issue clarity.
Sharing Anish’s statement, Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) co-founder Abhijeet Dipke asked, “Didn’t Puri claim that he never had a personal meeting with Epstein?”
Tagging Puri on X, All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MP Mahua Moitra said, “Recognise the room? Did your ‘Digital India’ meetings with Epstein (who you claimed you never met one-on-one) take place in this boudoir? Have some shame and stop attending Cabinet meetings now at least.”
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate asked, “Didn’t Hardeep Puri say he had never met Epstein one-on-one? What kind of people does Modi like and chooses to have around him? Do you need any more proof - why RSS and the right wing can never ever respect and treat women as equals?”
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday wishes to Puri in February, Supriya further said, “Modi made no bones about it. Despite all the allegations and evidence — he didn’t just stand by Hardeep Puri but sent a clear message with this birthday post, right in the middle of a raging controversy.
She added, “You must speak up, Mr Modi. The company you keep🤦♀️.”
Rajya Sabha MP and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said, “Modiji, one minister, Hardeep Puri, is meeting Jeffrey Epstein alone? Whose message is he carrying in the meeting?
Puri and the Union Government are yet to respond.
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