Barely a week before Kerala-born Norway citizen Rinson Jose's name got embroiled in allegedly Mossad-triggered Lebanon pager blasts, he was busy organising Onam celebrations in Norway capital Oslo under the India Sports and Cultural Association, which he had founded in 2023.
At the event on September 14, Rinson was his usual self -- chatty, cracking jokes, running around organising programmes. He addressed the gathering, which had around 160 participants. A social media post by Embassy of India, Oslo says that Indian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway Acquino Vimal attended the event. Sometime during the event, he told his friends that he would be leaving for the US to attend a conference the following week. He was being sent by his company, his friends were told.
It was a good day. Everything changed the next week. Pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon and Syria killing around 12 people. Very soon, reports linking Rinson Jose and his company Norta Global to the blasts emerged and this took everyone by surprise. Some of his friends reached out. Rinson didn't respond.
Bulgarian state security agency, DANS, later stated that pagers used in Lebanon blasts were not exported or made in Bulgaria, in a way clearing Rinson's company Norta Global of any links with the blast. There was a sense of relief among his family and friends, but mystery lingered. People in Kerala and Norway who have known Rinson for years were surprised to know that he had a company registered in Bulgaria. His social media profile only showed him as an entrepreneur running a company named NortaLink based in Norway.
Documents accessed from the Registration Agency of Bulgaria, a unified portal of commercial register, register of non-profit legal entities and property register, show Rinson Jose as the undersigned in the Article of Association of sole member limited liability company named Norta Global Ltd. The address of the company is Sofia, 1000, 48 Vitosha Blvd, ground floor. Under company capital contribution, it is cited that the capital belongs to the sole proprietor of the company Rinson Jose, citizen of Norway and the whole capital was paid in money. The date of signature was April 10, 2022. A source said signature on the company document appears similar to that of Rinson but there was no confirmation. Onmanorama couldn't independently verify the authenticity of the signature on the document.
Family members and friends Onmanorama spoke to said that they never knew Rinson ran a company in Bulgaria. Then there was another report which was news to his acquaintances. His profile was seen on Founders Nation, a website which connects entrepreneurs and co-founders in Israel. While a Google search still shows up results, the page on the website doesn't reflect his profile any more. A tweet by Bill Marczak, a senior Research fellow at Citizen lab read "Rinson Jose, registrant of Norta Global, a co reportedly linked to BAC, isn't picking up his phone (no surprise), but perhaps interestingly, he had a (now-deleted) profile on Founder Nation, a site designed to link entrepreneurs with start-ups in Israel.'' Onmanorama has sought a comment from Bill Marczak.
An uneasy sense of uncertainty and doubt has clouded the Malayali community following reports of Rinson's links to the blast. They are totally in the dark about the mystery that has shrouded Rinson, a person whom they have always known as a close friend, and his silence and manner of going incommunicado have further deepened their apprehensions. "We are hopeful that security agencies will soon clear the air," a friend said.
"We had no idea about his company in Bulgaria or that he had a profile on a website that connected Israeli entrepreneurs. He has always been a friendly, helpful person. He was at the forefront of organising functions and gatherings among the community. He is a quick-learner and always maintained good contacts with people. His silence is bit worrying," sources in Kerala and Norway said.
Rinson hasn't spoken to his friends or family after the blasts. Onmanorama sought a response from the National Police Directorate and Ministry of Justice and Public Security, Norway, as to whether any probe has been initiated, but no response was received. Mails sent to Amund Djuve, CEO, DN Media group, where Rinson is currently employed, also went unanswered. Reuters has reported that Norway' security police have begun a preliminary investigation to determine whether there are reasons for starting a full-scale investigation based on allegations that a Norwegian-owned company may have been involved in the dissemination of pagers to Hezbollah.
The reason why Rinson was secretive about his company in Bulgaria has also left his friends puzzled given the fact that there is no legal restriction on an individual to run a private company even while being a staff of another organisation in Norway. Rinson's wife has also remained unreachable.
Rinson who hails from Wayanad in Kerala, did his MBA from Pondicherry University and Masters in International social welfare and health policy from Oslo Metropolitan University. He had also served as a teacher with Poor Servants of Divine Providence (PSDP).