New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday responded to a political controversy sparked by the Congress party over alleged links between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In a statement, the MEA said:

"We have seen reports of an email message from the so-called Epstein files that has a reference to the Prime Minister and his visit to Israel. Beyond the fact of the Prime Minister’s official visit to Israel in July 2017, the rest of the allusions in the email are little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal, which deserve to be dismissed with the utmost contempt."

The Congress had highlighted documents purportedly from the US Department of Justice, suggesting that the Prime Minister followed Epstein’s guidance during his official visit to Israel, allegedly to please the American President.

US releases Epstein investigative material

On Friday (local time), the US Department of Justice released a significant batch of investigative material related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The release includes more than three million pages of records, over 2,000 videos, and around 180,000 images.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the disclosures at a news conference, highlighting that the release meets a transparency mandate passed by Congress last year. "Today's release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people and compliance with the act," Blanche said.

Background on Epstein

Jeffrey Epstein died by apparent suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges. He had previously served 13 months in custody in Florida following a controversial plea deal in 2008.