Kerala-born man's name pops up in Pager Blasts case.

An Indian emigrant to Norway has emerged in the probe into the pager blasts which killed 12 in Lebanon and injured thousands. Rinson Jose hails from Wayanad in Kerala. Now a Norwegian citizen, reports earlier had indicated that a company owned by the 37-year-old in Bulgaria was behind the supplying the pagers to the militant group.
Initial investigations had indicated that the pagers, which were alleged to have been tampered with by Mossad to conceal three grams of explosives in each, were made by a Taiwan-based company called Gold Apollo. However, according to a statement, the company said that the pager model used in the blast, known as the AR-924, was actually made and sold by BAC Consulting KFT, a firm based in Budapest, Hungary, licensed to use its trademark.

“The verifications performed have indisputably established that no communications equipment similar to those used in the bombing on 17 September was imported, exported or produced in Bulgaria,” the agency was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.

On Friday, a day after the blasts in Lebanon, Bulgarian agency DANS confirmed that no communications equipment similar to those used in the bombing on 17 September were imported, exported, or manufactured in Bulgaria.

It noted that neither the company nor its owner have “conducted any transactions related to the sale or purchase of the merchandise” or which “fall under laws on terrorism financing”.
Police in Norway’s capital Oslo said they have launched a “preliminary investigation into the information that has emerged”.
‘Went To Norway To Study’

According to a report by the news agency IANS, Jose went to Norway a couple of years back to pursue higher studies. He briefly worked in London before heading back to Oslo.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he has worked for close to five years in digital customer support for the Norwegian press group DN Media, AFP reported. DN Media said newspaper Verdens Gang they could not contact him as he has been on an overseas work trip since Tuesday.

Relatives said Jose was settled in Oslo with his wife and had a twin brother based in London. “We talk daily on the phone. But since the last three days, we have received no word from Jose. Kerala men is a simple-minded person and we have complete trust in him. He will not be involved in any wrong thing. He must have been caught in these blasts,” said Thankachen, a relative of the 37-year-old who spoke to news agency on Friday. Man said they still haven’t been able to reach Jose’s wife as well.