For the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, it was not just another distress call from an NRI. On the other side was Indian fashion designer Anand Jon who has been charged with as many as 59 cases of varying degrees of sexual assault. The MOIA jumped at the opportunity to “save” the celebrity NRI who incidentally belongs to Kerala, the home state of Vayalar Ravi who heads the ministry. And now with prosecutors dropping 30 of the 59 charges against Jon, the Ministry claims that its efforts have borne fruit. “Our Minister had extended all the support to Jon’s mother and sister who sought his help. He had taken up the case with the Ministry of External Affairs and had directed the Consulate General to give all the assistance,” said an official with the MOIA.In fact, Sashi Abraham, mother of Anand Jon, had held discussions with Vayalar Ravi and MEA Minister Pranab Mukherjee early this week. Claiming that her brother was innocent, Sanjana Jon, his sister had also approached the Minister to help her absolve her brother of all allegations. She had also met Vayalar Ravi in this regard.
