Lebanon Pager Blast: Why is an Indian-born Norwegian citizen being said to be behind Israel’s pager attack?

New Delhi: The pager of Hezbollah members exploded in Lebanon. The connection of the pager explosions in Lebanon has come to light with an Indian-born Norwegian citizen. This man from Wayanad, Kerala, had taken training to become a religious leader for a short time before going to Norway, now his/her name has surfaced in the pager explosions in Lebanon. These explosions were carried out targeting Hezbollah fighters in which 12 people were killed and many were injured.

Rinsan Jose is from Wayanad, Kerala

Rinson Jose, 37, from Wayanad is now a Norwegian citizen. Rinson is alleged to be the owner of Sofia, Bulgaria-based Norta Global Limited. International security agencies are investigating this company as there are reports that it has sold hundreds of pagers. Central intelligence agencies and the Special Branch of Kerala Police on Friday gathered information about Rinson from his/her native village Ondayangadi near Mananthavady in Wayanad. Wayanad District Police Chief Taposh Basumathri said that the police have checked the whereabouts of Rinson. he/she said that now that the identity and family details have come out in the media, the police have taken steps to ensure his/her safety.

Before going to Norway, he/she used to work as a tailor

Family sources said that Rinsan’s father’s name is Moothedath Jose and mother’s name is Gracy. he/she used to work as a tailor earlier. But later he/she went abroad with his/her twin brother. his/her brother now works in the UK. his/her sister is a nurse in Ireland. he/she lives in Norway with his/her wife and last came home in November 2023 and went back in January 2024.

Talked to family in Kerala three days ago

Rinsan’s uncle Thankachan told TOI, “Rinsan last spoke to his/her family three days ago. Since then, they have not been able to contact him/her over phone. We also tried calling Rinsan’s wife on Friday, but no one answered. The news coming in the media about him/her is shocking, maybe someone has implicated him/her in this case.”

The company has been accused of helping in pager sales

Hungarian media reported that Norta Global had facilitated the sale of the pagers. The firm’s website, which described it as an advanced technology company with a strong focus on consulting, technology and payment integration, recruitment and outsourcing, has since been taken down. However, Bulgaria’s State Agency for National Security said that Norta Global and its owner had not carried out any transactions involving the sale or purchase of goods that would fall under laws on terror funding.

Now the company’s name has disappeared

Reuters reported on Thursday that Norta’s Bulgarian headquarters were registered to an apartment building near Sofia that is also home to about 200 other companies, but there was no sign of Norta there. Reuters said Rinson declined to comment on the pager when reached by phone and hung up when asked about the Bulgarian business.

Norto has been running the company since 2016

According to Rinson’s LinkedIn page, he/she has been working at Oslo-based DN Media Group in Norway for about five years and was involved in leading digitization, automation and development across multiple brands/publications. Since 2016, he/she has been running the company Norta. Rinson pursued a master’s degree from Oslo Metropolitan University from 2012 to 2015. The profile also claims that he/she was the secretary general of Norway’s International Students’ Union for a year from September 2012.

Family and neighbors are not convinced

Residents of the Ondiyangadi area said they knew Rinsan as an honest man, while his/her shocked family members said they were sure he/she had done nothing wrong. Rinsan’s uncle Thankachan said Rinsan studied at the Ondiyangadi school, then went to a madrassa for a year and later continued his/her studies in Wayanad and Bengaluru. he/she had worked at a call centre in Bengaluru and obtained an MBA from Pondicherry in 2010 before moving to Norway for further studies. he/she said he/she was not aware of Rinsan owning a company there. “he/she was an employee in a company… the family is not that well-off. Even now his/her parents do tailoring work at home.”