NEW DELHI

India dismissed a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, describing them as “trashy ruminations.”

“We have seen reports of an email message from the so-called Epstein files that has a reference to the prime minister and his visit to Israel,” the Indian External Affairs Ministry said in a statement over the weekend.

"Beyond the fact of the prime minister’s official visit to Israel in July 2017,” the ministry said, “the rest of the allusions in the email are little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal, which deserve to be dismissed with the utmost contempt.”

The reference to Modi and his visit to Israel was reportedly made in an email, among the files released last week.

India's main opposition Congress party has demanded that Modi “personally come clean on these disturbing disclosures that raise serious questions.”

Modi's ruling Bhartiya Janata Party, however, accused the Congress of fabricating an email from the Epstein files to “falsely implicate” the prime minister.

Epstein allegedly referred to India and Modi, expressing a desire to enhance US-India engagement, according to the Indian daily The Hindu.

“He also claimed he would set up a meeting with the prime minister for Republican strategist and Mr. (Donald) Trump associate Steve Bannon, shortly after the 2019 general election,” it said in a report.

Newly unsealed documents from a US federal court have disclosed the names of world leaders, royals, billionaires, and other elites linked to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The release of more than 3 million pages of records by the US Justice Department in a high-profile sex trafficking case has shed light on dozens of powerful figures allegedly connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, exposing links to political leaders, royals, diplomats and corporate elites across multiple continents.

US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the documents, made public under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, include more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.

While redactions were applied to protect victims, particularly minors, 43 victims' names were released without concealment, including more than 20 who were underage at the time of abuse.