An Indian couple has been identified as the suspects behind the New York hate crime involving the covering up of pictures of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in New York and harassing a Jewish man, The Post Millennial journalist Andy Ngô revealed on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The incident, which took place on Nov. 9 near 68th St. and Riverside Blvd., involved the individuals Kurush Mistry and Shailja Gupta, both Indian nationals, harassing a Jewish man. They were also observed concealing photos of civilians kidnapped by Hamas with signs reading “OCCUPIERS FACE CONSEQUENCES.”
When a Jewish man accosted the couple for removing the pictures of Hamas captives and started recording them, they allegedly asked him to “return to his country”, with the woman, identified as Shailja Gupta, claiming to hail from Palestine herself. Journalist Andy Ngô had shared the video of the incident.
"Go live in Israel. Go back to your country!"
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) November 10, 2023
The Jewish person who encountered these two covering-up photos of civilians kidnapped by Hamas with "OCCUPIERS FACE CONSEQUENCES" flyers sent me this video. It was recorded on Nov. 9 in Manhattan's Upper West Side at 68th St. and… pic.twitter.com/lum2UoBsA5
Ngô subsequently shared an update stating that he had identified the two people who were racially harassing a Jewish man in New York city and covering up photos of civilians kidnapped by Hamas with “OCCUPIERS FACE CONSEQUENCES” signs. “They are husband and wife Kurush Mistry and Shailja Gupta. The two Indian nationals told the American Jewish man to “go back to [his] country.” Shailja claimed to come from Palestine,” he tweeted along with the pictures of the couple Kurush Mistry and Shailja Gupta, both of whom are of Indian descent.
Update: I've been able to identify the two people racially harassing a Jewish man in NYC and covering up photos of civilians kidnapped by Hamas with "OCCUPIERS FACE CONSEQUENCES" signs. They are husband and wife Kurush Mistry and Shailja Gupta. The two Indian nationals told the… pic.twitter.com/OGn6Upce0d
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) November 10, 2023
The video of the incident quickly went viral on the internet, igniting discussions about anti-Semitism and hate speech in the city. As of now, the NYPD has not issued a statement regarding potential charges or any further actions.
While the couple has so far not released any statement on the incident, an X user provided further insight into the woman accused of anti-Semitism and harassment on the streets of New York. The X user, who goes by @YearOfTheKraken, tweeted that the woman in question, Shailja Gupta, is the same person who made merchandise for Shah Rukh Khan-starrer superhero movie Ra.One.
Shailja Gupta made the merchandise for the Bollywood Movie, https://t.co/n0Ts4CcIMU. Yes, the Shah Rukh Khan starrer superhero movie https://t.co/n0Ts4CcIMU. pic.twitter.com/ubyCn4p9Cw
— Sensei Kraken Zero (@YearOfTheKraken) November 11, 2023
In a subsequent tweet, the X user shared Shailja Gupta’s interview where she revealed that Shah Rukh Khan not only threw open the doors of his post-production facility in Mumbai for her movie ‘Walkaway’ which was released in 2010, but he had also offered financial assistance to her for the completion of her movie.
Shah Rukh Khan had even helped Shailja Gupta complete her Indie-film 'Walkaway' that was released in 2010.
— Sensei Kraken Zero (@YearOfTheKraken) November 11, 2023
Quite clearly, Shailja Gupta is ax extremely well-to-do person. And yet, look at the hate she harbours in her heart. Truly extraordinary. pic.twitter.com/FSpL20qJmK
Besides being charged with anti-Semitism, Gupta has also been deeply Hinduphobic. Ahead of the Indian festival of Rakshabandhan in 2021, Gupta took to Facebook to characterise it as a ‘sexist holiday’. She insinuated that Rakshabandhan was a “Goldmine for child labour” and a “yet another opportunity to pivot the emotional festival into Export Cash Cow.”
Besides Shaija, the man who harassed the Jewish man in the viral video is reportedly identified as her husband, Kurush Mistry. Mistry hails from Chennai and is working as an Oil Analyst at Freepoint Commodities, as per her Facebook page which appears dormant, given that the last post it had was from May 2017.
As per his Facebook page, Mistry is an IIM Ahmedabad pass-out and has worked as a Commodities Trader at Morgan Stanley.
On October 7, armed Hamas terrorists raided the southern border areas of Israel, killing people with abandon and taking captives with them. According to reports, over 240 Israelis have been abducted and taken to Gaza after the October 7 attack, which also led to the deaths of 1,400 Israelis, triggering a national mourning and subsequent Israeli retaliation against the Hamas terrorists.
Since then, propagandists and Hamas sympathisers around the world have tried to downplay the attacks on October 7 that triggered the Israeli retaliation and blamed the Netanyahu government and Israelis by dehumanising them as “settlers” and “occupiers” as a means to justify the attacks against them and hold them instead responsible for Hamas’ depravity.
