New Delhi: A photograph released by the US Department of Justice shows Union oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri seated across a table from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with no one else visible in the frame, raising questions about Puri’s account that he had met Epstein as part of a delegation led by his former boss at the International Peace Institute (IPI).The photograph, which began circulating on social media on Tuesday, is part of the Justice Department’s Epstein files. It was included in Dataset 9, released in January this year.It shows Puri, dressed in a suit, sitting opposite Epstein, who appears to be wearing a black turtleneck sweater. Both men are seated in armchairs upholstered in animal print, with papers and other items visible on the table between them.The Wire has found that there are at least 10 photos of that meeting in the dataset, all of them nearly identical in the framing, with only slight changes in angle.In response to questions from The Wire, Puri’s office said the minister could not recall which meeting the photograph showed or whether others were present before or after it was taken. It also said that Puri had not claimed that he had never met Epstein alone.“At his press conference in February, Mr Puri explained how he came to know Epstein. His then-boss at the International Peace Institute, Terje Rød-Larsen, a senior Norwegian diplomat, knew Epstein well. Mr Puri’s first meeting with Epstein was as part of an IPI delegation led by Mr Rød-Larsen. That is the context he was describing. He did not say he never met Epstein alone,” the statement said.“Nearly a decade on, Mr Puri cannot recall which meeting these photographs are from, or whether others were present before or after they were taken,” it added.His office maintained that the photograph supported Puri’s account of the nature of his interactions with Epstein. “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,” it said.The statement also reiterated that Puri had never visited Epstein’s Island and that their interactions were professional. “His emails also bear out what their interactions were about: generating interest in India’s economy and its digital potential among investors and technology leaders,” it said.At a press conference on February 11, Puri had said that he met Epstein “three or maximum four” times over eight years, from the time he joined India’s diplomatic mission to the United Nations in New York in 2009 until he became a minister in 2017. He said his first encounter with Epstein took place after he joined IPI and that his then-boss, Rød-Larsen, knew the financier.“My boss in the IPI, Mr Terje Rod-Larsen, was a person who knew this particular infamous person, Mr Epstein, and it is as part of a delegation of the IPI or the ICM that I met Mr Epstein on a few occasions – three or maximum four,” Puri said.Emails released by the Justice Department earlier this year had already documented multiple encounters between the two. As The Wire reported on February 1, the correspondence between Puri and Epstein spans June 2014 to June 2017 and records at least three meetings at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse.The meetings were scheduled for February 4, 2015, January 6, 2016, and May 19, 2017, at Epstein’s residence at 9 East 71st Street. They were arranged through Epstein’s assistant, Lesley Groff. A meeting planned for January 9, 2015, was cancelled because Epstein was no longer in New York.The emails also show Epstein introducing Puri to Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, in September 2014. Puri subsequently exchanged messages with Hoffman and, in a November 13 email, outlined investment opportunities in India’s internet economy, citing the government’s Digital India initiatives and the potential for technology companies to expand in the country.Other exchanges, however, show that the correspondence was not limited to the LinkedIn introduction. On October 24, 2014, Epstein asked Puri to help arrange an Indian visa for his assistant, who wanted to attend a wedding in India. Puri forwarded the request to former Indian diplomat Parmod Bajaj, asking him to arrange the matter on a “priority basis”.In December 2014, Puri wrote to Epstein asking him to let him know when he returned from his “exotic island”, adding that he wanted to visit for a conversation and to give him books to “excite an interest in India”. In a subsequent message, Puri wrote, “Indeed, telepathy. Give me a shout when you are back. And, have fun. Not that you require encouragement from others for that.”Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. He was arrested again in July 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges and died in custody by suicide the following month while awaiting trial.Puri’s office asserted that meeting Epstein a few times in a professional context could not, by itself, support an inference of misconduct. “A very wide range of people across academia, science, business and politics met Epstein in those years. Having met him a few times in that context cannot lead to inference of any wrongdoing,” it said.Opposition calls it ‘international disgrace’ for Modi and his cabinetCongress leader Srinivas B.V. called the episode “international disgrace”.“In any other democracy, forget Hardeep Epstein Puri, even the PM and his entire Cabinet would have resigned over such an international disgrace. But then, we have the BJP,” Srinivas wrote.In any other democracy, forget Hardeep Epstein Puri, even the PM and his entire Cabinet would have resigned over such an international disgrace.But then, we have the BJP. https://t.co/v5U3V6bPnV— Srinivas BV (@srinivasiyc) October 21, 2026Referring to Puri’s press conference, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra questioned where the other delegates were when the newly surfaced pictures of Puri and Epstein were clicked.“Epstein Paaji told us he only met Epstein as part of a delegation 3-4 times. Guess the other delegates were hiding under the table in these 2 photos, Paaji,” Moitra wrote on X.Epstein Paaji told us he only met Epstein as part of a delegation 3-4 times. Guess the other delegates were hiding under the table in these 2 photos, Paaji. https://t.co/kOy0RwIbkL— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) October 20, 2026In another post, Moitra wrote, “Hello Hardeep Singh Puri, 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 & stop attending Cabinet meetings now at least.”Hello @HardeepSPuri – 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 & stop attending Cabinet meetings now at least. https://t.co/MzfjYzeeeD— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) October 21, 2026TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose underlined that across the world “Epstein associates are being asked to quit” while in India “Epstein associates enjoy VIP high office while idealistic youth who carry the national flag are jailed”. “Hardeep Singh Puri caught on camera in a private one on one with convicted child rapist Jeffrey Epstein. Clearly the minister’s proximity to a sexual offender convict can no longer be denied. Yet another Narendra Modi mantri (minister)caught out. A government is judged by the company it keeps. Across the world Epstein associates are being asked to quit; in the Modi regime, Epstein associates enjoy VIP high office while idealistic youth who carry the national flag are jailed,” Ghose wrote. Shri @HardeepSPuri caught on camera in a private one on one with convicted child rapist Jeffrey Epstein. Clearly the minister’s proximity to a sexual offender convict can no longer be denied. Yet another @narendramodi mantri caught out. A government is judged by the company it keeps. Across the world Epstein associates are being asked to quit; in the Modi regime, Epstein associates enjoy VIP high office while idealistic youth who carry the national flag are jailed.— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) October 21, 2026Nationalist Congress Party–Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) leader Anish Gawande said Puri must answer why he was meeting Epstein “even in ambassadorial capacity”.“These are damning photos. Former Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri must answer as to why he was meeting Jeffrey 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 disussions must now be made public. 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 wrote. These are damning photos.Former Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri must answer as to why he was meeting Jeffrey 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 disussions must now be made public. 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.— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) October 20, 2026In another post, Gawande asked if there’s a link between the release of these photos and the India-US trade deal.“Something isn’t adding up. Hardeep Singh Puri is not re-nominated to the Rajya Sabha. His ministership hangs in uncertainty until a cabinet reshuffle. DoJ releases photos of Hardeep Singh Puri with Epstein, months after he claimed never to have met the man one-on-one. Hardeep Singh Puri claims this was part of a delegation of International Peace Institute (whose big donors, by the way, include the Jeffrey Epstein Foundation and George Soros). Donald Trump announces a breakthrough in the India-US Trade Deal, which is “much different” from previous pacts (months after the announcement of a historic trade deal and weeks after a dismissal of the trade deal as “dead in the water” by FM Nirmala Sitharaman). Is there a link between the photos released of Jeffrey Epstein and the India-US Trade Deal?” he questioned on X.Something isn’t adding up.– Hardeep Singh Puri is not re-nominated to the Rajya Sabha. His ministership hangs in uncertainty until a cabinet reshuffle.– DoJ releases photos of Hardeep Singh Puri with Epstein, months after he claimed never to have met the man one-on-one.– Hardeep Singh Puri claims this was part of a delegation of International Peace Institute (whose big donors, by the way, include the Jeffrey Epstein Foundation and George Soros).– Donald Trump announces a breakthrough in the India-US Trade Deal, which is “much different” from previous pacts (months after the announcement of a historic trade deal and weeks after a dismissal of the trade deal as “dead in the water” by FM Nirmala Sitharaman).Is there a link between the photos released of Jeffrey Epstein and the India-US Trade Deal?— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) October 21, 2026Similarly, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut questioned “whose message” Puri was carrying in the meeting.“Modiji, one minister Hardeep Puri is meeting Jeffrey Epstein alone? Whose message is he carrying in the meeting? This is the beginning. Watch ahead to see what’s about to happen. RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) regime change will happen! Jai Hind!” he said.