Sanjana Jon and her mother are pleading with the government to bring Anand Jon, who is serving a prison term in New York, to India. Team Viva reports

Sanjana Jon and her mother are pleading with the government to intervene and get Anand Jon back to India. They said that “he is a victim of racial discrimination.”

The Indian-American designer  was initially charged with 49 cases. He was arrested in 2007 in California on charges that he preyed upon seven young aspiring models, some as young as 14, and sexually assaulted them. He is currently serving 59 years of prison term in New York. Out of 49 charges 48 are dropped.

His sister Sanjana and mother Shashi Abraham claimed he was “innocent” and that he has been jailed though the evidence against him did not hold “any ground.”

They continued saying that the designer has been ill-treated by the US government.Has been a victim of vindictiveness and jealousy

“Out of 49 charges, 48 were dropped, as the US government had no evidence against him. Americans could not bear that he became a big name and also that he was doing better than them in their country. The child is innocent and vulnerable as he did not have any support from the Indian government,” said Abani Kumar Sahu, Jon’s lawyer at New York.

“My brother has been ill-treated. He is making sketches in the prison, which are very depressing describing his helpless position. We could not control our tears in front of him, every time we visit him. He is still in great shock but has hope that he will be out of all this one day.”

She added, “He is an Indian and if he is in a miserable condition, Indian government must intervene. I just want them to bring him back to India, so that at least we can take the case forward legally,” said Sanjana.

“When I visited California, to see Jon, I could not believe my eyes. He was being treated as a criminal, though the charges were not even proved by then. They chained his hands and legs and he has to put a pencil in his mouth to write. This was a calculated conspiracy by his partners as they could not see him grow. The case came up when he was about to launch his jeans brand AJ,” said Majid Memon, Jon’s lawyer at California.

Jon had launched a fashion line in 1999 and was featured on America’s Next Top Model. His designs have been worn by Oprah Winfrey and singer Janet Jackson and many others.