
Arrest over child porn: MEA reacts, says Indians going abroad should ‘abide by local laws, guidelines and regulations'
Answering a question on the matter during the press conference, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, 'These are matters of law and order... We would endeavour to tell Indian nationals going abroad that they should abide by local laws, guidelines and regulations.'
Earlier on 11 July, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had arrested a 42-year-old Indian national – Gurjeet Singh Malhi – in the State of Washington on charges of possession of child pornography.
Malhi was arrested during a coordinated federal law enforcement operation, and it has triggered a political row in Punjab as both the BJP and Congress accuse the ruling AAP of having links with the accused.
Since the purported images of Malhi with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's family members, and other AAP leaders and ministers surfaced, the opposition parties in Punjab have attacked the ruling party. Both the BJP and the Congress are seeking explanations from CM Bhagwant Mann and the AAP government in Punjab.
Meanwhile, Malhi has been charged by the US authorities with possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
'A citizen of India, Gurjeet Singh Malhi, 42, was arrested during a joint federal law enforcement action in WA. Malhi has been charged by local authorities with possession of CSAM, child sexual assault material, commonly known as child porn,' ICE said in a statement.
Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira has sought answers from the Punjab CM over his family's alleged connection with Malhi.
'We (Congress Party) demand an explanation from Bhagwant Mann – what connection does his family have with the shameful arrest of NRI Gurjit Malhi by USA federal authorities for possessing CSAM, Child Sexual Assault Material, commonly known as Child Porn? (sic),' the MLA from the Bholath Assembly constituency said in a post on X.
"Does the family of the Punjab CM have relations with such a shameful CRIMINAL? (sic)" the former Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly added.
"Similarly, other Aam Aadmi Party leaders like Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, FM Harpal Cheema, MLA, etc. should explain what dealings, including financial, do these leaders have with such Nasty Criminals? (sic)" Khaira further questioned in the post shared on Wednesday.
BJP's Chandigarh unit also attacked AAP and asked on X, "How long will AAP's self-proclaimed revolutionaries dodge these serious allegations?"
'NRI Gurjeet Malhi, arrested in the USA on child sexual exploitation (CSAM, child pornography) charges. His photos with CM Bhagwant Mann's family are circulating publicly, along with clear links to AAP leaders like Speaker Kultar Sandhwan, Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, and Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak,' the BJP said in a social media post.
'What is your connection with this man? Why the silence on such a disturbing case?' BJP said.
"AAP leaders often target others based on mere photos – will you now apply the same standard to yourselves?" the BJP asked.
So far, the Aam Aadmi Party has not responded to the allegations.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Mint
18 minutes ago
- Mint
Parliament Monsoon Session LIVE Updates: ‘Do you speak with Paki?' Amit Shah jibes at Oppn; informs 3 terrorists killed
29 Jul 2025, 12:45 PM IST Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticised Congress leader P Chidambaram for questioning the evidence linking the Pahalgam attackers to Pakistan, remarking that raising such a query on the eve of the parliamentary debate seemed like an attempt to defend or shield Pakistan. 29 Jul 2025, 12:45 PM IST Operation Mahadev was launched on May 22, 2025, said Amit Shah in Lok Sabha. He added that he reached Srinagar by 5:30 PM, and a high-level security meeting was held that evening, where it was decided that the terrorists must not be allowed to flee the country. 29 Jul 2025, 12:45 PM IST Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday informed in Parliament about the killing of the terrorists who were involved in the Pahalgam terror attack. He also took a swipe at the Opposition, stating that they 'did not seem to be happy about it". Amit Shah also asked Opposition, 'Do you speak with Pakistan?' 29 Jul 2025, 12:45 PM IST Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday confirmed in Parliament that the very rifles recovered from three terrorists killed in the recent Dachigam encounter were the same weapons used in the brutal Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 civilians dead. 'Ballistic analysis of the rifles and cartridge cases conclusively established that these were the same weapons used in the attack on our civilians," Shah told the House.


New Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Congress MP Gogoi's Parliament speech proves he acts on behalf of Pakistan: Assam CM Himanta
GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, alleging that his recent speech in Parliament 'proved beyond doubt' that he acts on behalf of Pakistan. Taking to X, Sarma wrote, 'Speech delivered by our MP from Jorhat in Parliament yesterday proved beyond doubt that he acts on behalf of Pakistan. His secret trip and close ties with the Pakistani establishment speak volumes.' The Chief Minister further claimed that Gogoi's wife and both children hold foreign citizenship, suggesting that the Congress leader 'can leave India any time.' 'He is a disgrace to Assam and a betrayal of our pride as proud Indians,' Sarma added.


Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Sanctions, exemptions and assurances: A cautionary note on India's trade deal strategy
Casinos and betting companies around the world might as well start offering odds on US tariff rates across goods for different countries and for how long the rates will stick. If one were lulled into complacency about understanding the current state of affairs, the Trump administration is sure to throw a few wildcards into the mix to keep everyone on their toes – and this includes analysts as well as trade negotiators. A few other countries, including Europe, have agreed on a trade deal with the US, and analysing its structure and form can give a strong indication of how the Indian deal might play out. Finally, a free trade agreement with the UK that was recently signed and one with Australia that was signed a few months ago give India a minor edge in the proceedings. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte recently threatened India, along with China, Brazil and others with 100 per cent secondary sanctions if they continue doing business with Russia, including buying Russian oil. Simultaneously, US Senator Lindsey Graham is pushing for the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, a bipartisan legislative proposal. The bill, backed by Trump and 170 other lawmakers, threatens an unprecedented 500 per cent tariff on all goods exported to the US by countries that buy Russian oil, gas, petrochemicals or uranium. This is part of an overall strategy to choke the Kremlin's war bank and economic lifelines. Trump has warned that if Russia does not stop its military offensive within 50 days, nations trading with Russia will receive trade penalties. India imports 90 per cent of its crude oil needs, of which 35-40 per cent comes from Russia. Recall that in 2020, the share of Russia in India's crude oil imports was less than 1 per cent. The response by the Indian administration has been mixed. India's foreign secretary hit back at NATO's double standards for both buying Russian gas and for buying refined oil from India, which uses Russian crude as inputs. He has also indicated that India might not readily fall in line, as securing India's energy needs is the top priority for this government. Elsewhere, there's a tacit acknowledgement of the cost-benefit analysis. India's Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has implicitly acknowledged that India is prepared to 'deal with these sanctions' when they are passed. What helps is that India now has diversified its import sources to 40 countries, as opposed to 27 in the past, which means that India can reduce its imports from Russia, should the sanctions be passed. While diversifying imports to other countries can turn out to be slightly more expensive, a 500 per cent (or even 100 per cent) tariff rate would kill India's competitiveness with the only major trading partner with which India has a trade surplus. India will have to assess the probability of Trump keeping his word on the secondary tariffs. The oil spot markets called his bluff, as the price for Brent crude barely moved from $69 per barrel. If the secondary sanctions stick and Russian oil (which accounts for 10 per cent of the total global oil supply) is shut out of the global markets, the price could shoot up to $120 per barrel. This would derail Trump's domestic low-energy prices agenda. Moreover, if secondary tariffs on Chinese (mainly) and Indian goods stick, it would result in a significant increase in prices of imported goods and cause runaway inflation in the US. Will the acronym TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) be validated again? Along with the threat of secondary tariffs, Trump has also separately imposed tariffs on auto and auto parts. He is also threatening tariffs on pharmaceutical imports and a 10 per cent additional tariff on all products from BRICS countries for attempting to 'destroy' the US Dollar. These additional tariffs would make the Indian side wary of signing a deal with the US, given that it may be superseded at any time by such ad hoc measures. A trade deal would mean very little if there's a new threat of tariffs every other day. To mitigate this, the Indian side would want explicit assurances that no new tariffs will be imposed once a Bilateral Trade Agreement is finalised. India should now insist on the agreement including renegotiation clauses, or compensation from its trading partner in case of a tariff increase. It could even insist on a clawback clause, which allows India to withdraw benefits if the US reneges on the deal. Though it would be rather foolhardy to speculate, it can be instructive to look at some of the other trade deals that the US has recently signed to get an idea of what may lie in store for India. Though some of these details are yet to be publicly confirmed, what we know so far is that trade deals with the UK, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan and the EU have been finalised. The big takeaway is that a 10 per cent tariff rate is the new zero or the base rate. In addition, each country faces different additional tariffs. The UK pays no extra charges, while Vietnam faces an additional 10 per cent (bringing their total to 20 per cent, down from the originally threatened 46 per cent). Indonesia and the Philippines each pay an additional 9 per cent, resulting in total rates of 19 per cent (compared to threatened rates of 32 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively). Japan and the EU receive the most favourable treatment with only an additional 5 per cent, for a total rate of 15 per cent. In exchange for these negotiated rates, most of these countries have eliminated all tariffs on US products and opened their markets to American companies. Note that sectoral tariffs are exempted from the reciprocal tariffs. Thus, auto and auto parts tariffs of 25 per cent will apply on top of the base 10 per cent, but these countries have negotiated on some of these sectoral tariffs. Japan was able to reduce auto tariffs to 15 per cent, reduced from the threatened 25 per cent, and the UK got it reduced to 10 per cent. India should pay attention to this and negotiate on pharma and auto products to get exemptions. The writer is an Economics Professor at the Takshashila Institution, an independent and non-partisan think tank and school of public policy