Amid ongoing efforts to refurbish India-US relations, a wholly avoidable controversy has erupted over the arrest of a senior Indian diplomat in New York over charges of visa fraud, with New Delhi making it clear to Washington that it was “totally unacceptable.”
Taking a strong stand, India’s Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh summoned US ambassador to India Nancy Powell December 13 to convey “shock” over “absolutely unacceptable” treatment meted out to India’s deputy consul general in New York, Dr Devyani Khobragade.
Registering strong protest, the foreign secretary stressed that the Indian diplomat was entitled to the courtesies under various multilateral conventions dealing with diplomatic fraternity posted in foreign countries.
In Washington, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, charge d’affaires of the Indian embassy, met senior officials in the US State Department and reiterated the foreign secretary’s strong demarche to the US envoy in New Delhi over the incident. In his meeting, Sandhu stressed that Dr. Khobragade was in the US “in pursuance of her duties as a diplomat and hence was entitled to the courtesy due to a diplomat in the country of her work.” Sandhu also underlined that the 39-year-old diplomat is a young mother of two small children. The government of India is shocked and appalled at the manner in which she has been humiliated by the U.S. authorities, Sandhu conveyed to the US officials. New Delhi has asked the US state department to resolve the matter at the earliest
On December 12, Khobragade was arrested on a street in New York as she was dropping her daughter to school in the morning and handcuffed in public on visa fraud charges and alleged exploitation of her domestic help. She was charged with one count of visa fraud and one count of making false statements, which carry maximum sentences of 10 years and five years in prison, respectively. She was released later on USD 250,000 bond after pleading not guilty in court.
India has decided to deal with the issue on two tracks – legal and diplomatic. Diplomatically, India has conveyed to the US that this kind of treatment of an Indian diplomat is simply not on. Legally, the incident will be dealt with differently as there are many complex issues relating to US labour laws and diplomatic immunity that need closer scrutiny.
“We are shocked and appalled at the manner in which she has been humiliated by the US authorities. We have taken it up forcefully with the US government through our embassy in Washington. We are also reiterating, in no uncertain terms, to US embassy here that this kind of treatment to one of our diplomats is absolutely unacceptable,” Syed Akbaruddin, the spokesperson of India’s foreign office, said in New Delhi.
Legally, Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara, an Indian-American, whose office is prosecuting the case has argued that the Indian diplomat had fraudulently brought a domestic help from India by promising mandatory U.S wages ($ 9.75 per hour) and underpaying her ($ 3.11 per hour). Indian officials have their own version of the story and stressed that the housekeeper, Sangeeta Richard, has been absconding since June this year, and “in this context the Delhi High Court had issued an-interim injunction in September to restrain Ms Richards from instituting any actions or proceedings against Dr Khobragade outside India on the terms or conditions of her employment.”
Following up on the court injunction, the US government had been requested to locate Ms Richard and facilitate the service of an arrest warrant, issued by the Metropolitan Magistrate of the South District Court in New Delhi under Sections 387, 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, they added.
“The US side have been urged to resolve the matter with due sensitivity, taking into account the existing Court case in India that has already been brought to their attention by the Government of India, and the Diplomatic status of the officer concerned,” the Indian Embassy in Washington said in a statement.
T
he arrest of the Indian official has coincided with the renewed efforts by both India and the US to sustain the momentum in bilateral relations amid their respective domestic preoccupations. The arrest came soon after Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh returned to New Delhi after wide-ranging talks with senior US officials in Washington which firmed up a roadmap for bilateral engagement in the next few months. The US has taken note of India’s strong reactions and has expressed hope that such incidents will not adversely impact the course of bilateral relations.
“We are handling this incident through law enforcement channels. We have a long-standing partnership with India, and we expect that that partnership will continue,” a US State Department spokesperson told PTI, an Indian news agency.
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