Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Petroleum Minister, faces scrutiny over alleged meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, as newly surfaced photos show them together. Opposition parties demand clarity on Puri's association with the convicted sex offender, raising questions about his earlier denials and the nature of their interactions.
HARDEEP SINGH PURI, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, is back in the headlines over his alleged meetings with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, an American financier, had the entire world on hold after a series of images and documents in the Epstein files revealed his close affiliations with several A-listers across various sectors.
In a recent development, a series of images of Puri and Epstein has been circulating on the internet. Hardeep Singh Puri had previously denied any relationship with the convicted sex offender in February 2026 and claimed that he had met Epstein “as part of a delegation.” In an exclusive report by The Wire, Puri’s office had clarified that he had not said that he had never met Epstein in a one-on-one meeting.
The newly surfaced purported photographs of Hardeep Singh Puri show him sitting across from Jeffrey Epstein in an empty room. The images were allegedly part of the millions of Epstein-linked images and documents that were released to the public after the Epstein Files Transparency Act was signed on November 19, 2025.
From actors and businessmen to politicians, the Epstein-linked files released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) named some of the most prominent figures known worldwide, including US President Donald Trump, former US President Bill Clinton, and billionaire businessman Bill Gates, among others. While several revelations were made in February 2026, the inclusion of Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s name in the controversial Epstein files caused a stir, as the Indian opposition raised questions about his association with the convicted sex offender.
Members of the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), also known as NCP (SP), have shared the images of Puri and Epstein, raising questions about the purpose of the meeting. Referring to the photographs as “damning photos,” NCP (SP)'s Anish Gawande took toX, demanding answers as to why Puri met Jeffrey Epstein, even in an “ambassadorial capacity.” “I am certainly hopeful that Ambassador Puri was not aware of any of the horrors of Epstein Island. I urge him to clarify his stance on the matter,” Gawande added.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra took a jibe at the Petroleum Minister, recalling his earlier statement that he had met Epstein only three or four times as part of a delegation. She wrote on X, “Guess the other delegates were hiding under the table in these 2 photos, Paaji.” Jeffrey Epstein was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008 and was further indicted on charges of sex trafficking minors in 2019. The same year, Epstein died by suicide in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York on August 10, 2019.
The Congress had earlier flagged the alleged association between Puri and Jeffrey Epstein in February 2026, when reports emerged claiming that the duo had 14 meetings between 2014 and 2017. Congress media and publicity department chairman Pawan Khera said at a press conference that “between 2014 and 2017, there were 62 email exchanges between Hardeep Puri and Epstein.”
See Also: Indian Names in Epstein Files? Big Leaks, Bigger Revelations Ahead as Trump Signs Full-Release Bill
He had also questioned the purpose of their meetings, which were reportedly held on June 5, 6, 8, and 9; September 19, 23, and 24; and October 9 and 10 in 2014. “Puri wrote 32 emails while Epstein sent him 30 emails. There were 14 meetings, which began soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to office in 2014, and went on till 2017,” Khera said.
On February 11, 2026, Hardeep Singh Puri denied all the allegations against him at a press conference and claimed that Terje Rød-Larsen, his boss at the International Peace Institute (IPI), knew Jeffrey Epstein. Puri said, “It is as part of the delegation of the IPI that I met Mr Epstein on a few occasions, three or maximum four.”
He added that he met Epstein because he was an important “member of New York society,” noting that “half of the world that interacted with him had no clue about his past.” On the official website of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Hardeep Singh Puri’s name appears 164 times in the Epstein library.
(Edited by Harsh Pandey)
[Rh/VS/HP]
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