“I don’t believe Rinson would do anything to harm anyone,” says Aju, cousin of Rinson Jose, a Wayanad-born Norwegian citizen, whose name has been linked to the pager and walkie-talkie blast in Lebanon that killed 37 people. The explosion, which involved thousands of handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, is described as Hezbollah's biggest security breach since the start of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in October 2023.
Allegedly, Israeli intelligence services had manufactured the devices, integrated the explosive PETN into the batteries, and sold them to Hezbollah through a shell company. Norta Global, a Bulgaria-based company owned by Rinson Jose, has been accused of supplying the pagers.
According to Aju, the family only knew that Rinson was working with DN Media, a Norwegian media conglomerate. “He holds a good position at DN Media. He has struggled a lot to get there.” Rinson is reportedly in the United States and has not contacted his family in Kerala for last three days. “He went there [to US] because his company sent him. That’s all we know,” Aju adds.
ALSO READ | ‘Israel crossed all red lines’: Hezbollah chief vows retaliation after device explosions
Rinson’s twin brother lives in London, while his sister works in Ireland. He became a Norwegian citizen four to five years ago and is married to Reshma, who is from Kottayam and also works at DN Media. However, she has not accompanied him to the US. “He’s bought a house in Norway,” Aju notes, adding that Rinson’s siblings were able to speak to Reshma.
In his early years, Rinson was an altar boy and deeply connected to the church. His father once ran a tailor shop, and in his late teens, Rinson joined the Divine Providence Seminary but later left. “Even after leaving, the priests helped him with his higher studies in Nagpur,” Aju says.
ALSO READ: How Israel's Mossad planted explosives in Hezbollah devices and detonated them remotely
Rinson and Aju were close, with Rinson always visiting when he was home. “I had surgery recently, and just a few days ago, he called to check on me,” Aju recalls.
Aju was at Rinson's home when the news broke on Malayalam channels. “We received a lot of calls from news channels and the police. Even then, we didn’t know what was happening. Only when we turned on the TV we learnt about the allegations. We had no idea he had any company. Even Rinson’s twin brother didn’t know.”
Rinson has been active in programmes for Indian expats in Norway. “He recently gave the welcome speech at an Onam celebration,” Aju adds, while saying that only Rinson can give an explanation for the entire episode and allegations.
