8 June 2026
Indian politicians are part of the Epstein class
By RN Bhaskar and Sakeena Bari Sayyed
Image: Copilot
India was shocked when it heard that the names of Prime Minister Modi and his minister Hardeep Singh Puri had been named in the nauseating Epstein files. Subramaniam Swamy, the irrepressible president of Virat Hindustan Sangam, former Cabinet Minister, and former Harvard professor has been talking about it for a very long time — https://x.com/Swamy39/status/1993913149960147285?lang=en. When some of the Epstein files were made public by the US Justice Department, they clearly showed that Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had been in constant touch with Epstein (https://bhaskarr.substack.com/p/modi-panics?utm_source=publication-search).
The nation watched aghast as Puri revealed how sick and revolting his utterances and thought processes were. He talked about how his friends were jealous of Puri getting into the circle of powerful people who had relationships with underage girls (https://x.com/sagarikaghose/status/2021782324573352116). Strangely, the government did not remove him from his ministership.
Normally, any act of gross moral turpitude would demand such an action. Here was a case of a person who was allegedly involved not just in immoral relationships, but also illegal associations (being in touch with a convicted sex criminal, allegedly being involved with underage girls which is an illegal act inviting POCSO strictures (https://ncpcr.gov.in/public/POCSO). India is fertile territory for breeding more Jeffrey Epsteins.
The insensitivity of the legislative class is also evident in the jocularity with which discussions on rape are considered in the assembly (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTLKosEiP8g/?hl=en).
Also take into account the two datasets given below. One is about the top five states which have the largest incidence of sexual assault cases and the other regarding crimes against women. Not a pretty picture.
Growing sex crime numbers
India is clearly showing a great deal of latitude when it comes to sex crimes and exploitation, and even crimes against children. Against this backdrop, it is highly ironic that the government should be giving speeches on how it protects the rights and the dignity of women (https://www.facebook.com/reel/974929344877373).
Even national champions are not spared. India’s wrestling champion Vinesh Phogat was denied permission by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) from competing in a national ranking tournament in Gonda. The cause, say activists, was clearly linked to BJP strongman Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was accused of sexually harassing women wrestlers (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2qd4k0nwqo). He was – sadly – cleared of all charges, and is now reported to be keen on destroying the careers of those who complained against him. The courts finally ordered the WFI to allow her to participate.
Today, India boasts of the highest number of sex crimes in the world, dwarfed only by South Africa. But in Africa, reporting a sex crime does not carry the stigma and the fear of reprisals that it does in India. So many crimes go unreported. Had these restraining factors not been there, it is probable that the total incidents of sex crimes in India would be the largest in the world. Epstein would have loved India.
India’s ancient fatal flaw
Go back to the early part of this century. That was when the acclaimed Indo-Canadian filmmaker, Deepa Mehta ((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Z54yo7l9g) decided to make a movie on the plight of the widows of Varanasi inside an ashram (a shelter home). The movie is set in 1938. It talks about how some widows are prostituted and exploited so that the ashram can earn enough money for its own maintenance. This suited everyone. It pleased the moneybags who could pick up a woman of their choice. The people in charge of the ashram were thrilled because they get the money. And the widows remained resigned to their fate (https://asiaconverge.com/2021/07/hindi-belt-ii-crimes-against-children-and-against-humanity/). Justthe climate Epstein would have loved.
In 1998, even the courts made it difficult for anyone to file a case against anyone because the Supreme Court itself came out with a weird justification for getting money for votes calling it not “corruption” but “entrapment”. Fortunately, in May 2024, the Supreme Court overruled its own order of 1998 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ba7rxPBU2c&t=1s . When even the courts can be swayed to interpret bribery as ‘entrapment’ one can understand why sex exploitation can continue.
In fact, most involve politicians in high places. Sex scandals in India aren’t unusual (https://www.dailyo.in/politics/sandeep-kumar-aap-arvind-kejriwal-nd-tiwari-gopal-kanda-amarmani-tripathi/story/1/12697.html). More details are given below. Another compilation of some high-profile sex crimes has been listed out by BBC as well (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-20907755). Epstein made a mistake of allowing himself to get caught in the US. In India, he might have been exonerated without much difficulty.
Muzaffarpur
Another incident that needs special mention is one that occurred in Muzaffarpur in the state of Bihar. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the two of the sleaziest states in India, though Bihar has improved its treatment of women and girls significantly since the 1990s, thanks largely to former chief minister Laloo Prasad.
In May 2017 reports of sexual abuse of inmates at a child care home (also referred to as CCIs or child care institutions) surfaced. It hit headlines (https://asiaconverge.com/2021/04/curse-of-being-an-abandoned-child-in-india/). This gained prominence after Mumbai headquartered Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) conducted a social audit of CCIs across Bihar for the year 2017. The reports pointed to sexual abuse of girls at the Muzaffarpur CCI.
The Supreme Court ordered an investigation of all CCIs, and a comprehensive report came out. It can be downloaded from https://ncpcr.gov.in/uploads/167145198563a05551c7b75_national-report–social-audit-of-ccis.pdf . Originally, this report was accessible at https://wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/CIF%20Report%201_0_0 . Today you get the error message reproduced below.
Moreover, this report has the pages which had the “Executive Summary” blanked out. And there is no summary finding of all the tables given in the annexures.
Effectively, the government is trying to hide even the original findings of this report. It does not like the spotlight on the sex crimes of Uttar Pradesh which refused to allow inspections of its CCIs.
But a visit to another website lets you download the original report (https://iacn.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/baa0b7967ce1e7e2a5ef57d43c1991cc.pdf) and what the government website tries to conceal is now visible. Given below are select screenshots.
As for the Brajesh Thakur case, the CBI appears to have played its own game. It filed a case under the provisions for atrocities against scheduled Castes and Tribes, because the girls were from backward communities. This case was tried in 2025, and Thakur was acquitted of all charges under this Act (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/brajesh-thakur-2-others-acquitted-in-sc-st-case/articleshow/116896829.cms). Fortunately, there are other charges against Brajesh Thakur and other co-accused and they remain in jail (https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bihar/muzaffarpur-shelter-home-horror-brajesh-thakur-two-others-acquitted-in-scst-case/article69055264.ece).
National coverup
What is clear is that there is a national coverup. There is a coverup for the most disgusting of rape cases in India.
There is a national attempt to keep rape cases off the front pages of newspapers. But public outrage (as in the Jessica Lal case or the Nirbhaya case) have ensured that the incidents remain uppermost in the minds of people.
Another case that generated national revulsion was the Jalgaon sex scandal where the number of victims is estimated to be over 300 and could reach 500.
The coverup is related to several issues:
- Of what happened with Epstein.
- Why were the documents relating to the CCI findings edited and switched?
- Why has there been a constant attempt to whitewash Uttar Pradesh as a good state? One only has to see the multiple reports by Niti Aayog to see how desperate the attempts have been. Uttar Pradesh is the sex crime centre of India, with Maharashtra following closely behind. Effectively, Bihar has improved, and Maharashtra has worsened (https://bhaskarr.substack.com/p/is-maharashtra-going-the-uttar-pradesh?utm_source=publication-search).
- All the news surrounding the Unnao and Hathras are kept off the front pages of newspapers. All the attempts to spring BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar have failed (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2lvljx2dqqo). He remains behind bars. Although the Delhi High Court suspended his life sentence in the 2017 minor rape case, the Supreme Court of India stayed the release order.
- Look at the way the Union Government blithely turned a blind eye to the way both Asaram and Ram Rahim were given paroles and furloughs time and again, keeping them out of prison for a large number of days. The tables below show the repeated disdain for laws applicable to rapists.
Also look at the impunity with which Swamy Chinmayanand (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49766587) managed his case involving the rape of a young lawyer. Sadly, he still calls himself ‘swamy’. He first denied involvement. When the girl through other intermediaries produced video recordings to prove her point, charges of extortion were put against her. Finally, he was acquitted because the court said that the prosecution could not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Not a word was said by the Union government, nor was he expelled from the party.
Then go back to the Muzaffarpur case. We tried asking the BJP government what action was being taken in respect of the 34 CCI’s that were not investigated. In April 2021, we sent an email to Smriti Irani, from the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) — https://twitter.com/rnbhaskar1/status/1383705744822833156?s=20). It wasn’t even bothered. No reply. No action taken statement. That translates into an inference that the minister too is culpable because she has abdicated her prime responsibility of being a protector to women and children. The government remains a co-accused because it too has looked the other way.
We even wrote to the officers of the Kailash Satyarthi Trust and to Kailash Satyarthi — co-recipient in 2014, of the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Malala Yousafzai (https://twitter.com/rnbhaskar1/status/1388079806760341508?s=20). He keeps on trying to raise money for his trusts (https://www.kailashsatyarthi.net/), claiming that he is keen to promote the welfare of children. But ask him about details about the 34 shelters which the state of Uttar Pradesh has not allowed to be inspected. Such questions are greeted with silence.
Curiously, even the Nobel Foundation, which conferred the award of Satyarthi refuses to comment on this. Obviously, when the powerful get involved with sex crimes, even the Nobel Foundation goes all out to hide the facts. That is why the world has coined a new phrase for such people – the Epstein class.
Just consider the data on the treatment of minors:
Conclusion
That is why the words of ministers have begun to ring hollow. Next time, a minister gets up on the ramparts and claims that he stands for the dignity of women, for their safety, people should ask him about why Uttar Pradesh is being shielded. He should tell people why he has not thrown Puri out of the government. And he should explain how his party garlanded the mass rapists of Bilkis Bano when they were wrongly released from imprisonment. The Supreme Court threw them back in prison.
The minister who gave the rapists a good character certificate stating that “they are Brahmins” should be thrown out of the party.
If the politicians do not do these, they too are part of the Epstein class. They have no right to talk about the safety and dignity of women.
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Do watch two of our latest (four-part) podcasts on how India is being ensnared. They can be found at
- India Ensnared – the Northeast is in flames — https://youtu.be/GZlAK5dTqQQ
The other three videos will be released on Saturday, 06 June 2026, Sunday the 7th, and Monday the 8th. The URLs will appear with next week’s article. next week.
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Also view our podcast on Lessons India could learn from Myanmar with co-anchors Parjanya and Lt Col (Retd) J Sodhi. You can find it at https://www.youtube.com/live/-r-_Lb10kpI?si=3iks21tYPBAS6bvE
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Do also view the video telecast by Republic TV carrying my views on the Oman-India FTA at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W4CyRh0i3c
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Finally, do view our News Behind the News featuring
– Gold remains in the limelight
– India’s education mess…why are ministers always protected?
– India finally looks at FTAs differently
You can watch it at https://www.youtube.com/live/2ICycTrOGFY?si=b1nl-rPFunRt5RXS
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