Devyani Khobragade,New York-Based Indian Diplomat Arrested On Visa Fraud Charges Thursday Dec 12,2013

New York-based Indian Diplomat Devyani Khobragade (39)was on Thursday Dec 12,2013 arrested in New York on charges related to visa fraud and human trafficking, specifically that she had caused “materially false and fraudulent documents” to be presented to authorities in her bid to get Sangeeta Richard, an Indian national, employed as a babysitter and housekeeper at her residence in Manhattan

The 39-year-old Deputy Consul General at the Indian Consulate in New York was handcuffed on the street when she was dropping her daughter off to school last Thursday. After her arrest, she was allegedly treated like a hardened criminal. She was released on the same day on a $250,000 bond after she pleaded not guilty in court

Devyani Khobragade was strip-searched, swabbed for DNA, even checked for cavities and placed in a cell with drug addicts - though other cells were available


Diplomats generally enjoy immunity from arrest and prosecution under the Vienna Convention, such immunity has been waived on certain occasions in the past

The Indian embassy was said to have “immediately conveyed its strong concern to the U.S. Government over the action taken” against Ms. Khobragade and urged the U.S. side to “resolve the matter with due sensitivity… taking into account the diplomatic status of the officer concerned.”

Indian embassy confirmed that Devyani. Khobragade was “taken into custody by law enforcement authorities in New York in the morning of December 12, 2013 while she was dropping her daughter at school,” but was “later released that same evening” on bail.

Announcing the arrest and charges Indian-American U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, “Foreign nationals brought to the U.S. to serve as domestic workers are entitled to the same protections against exploitation as those afforded to U.S. citizens.”

The Indian embassy supplied further details on the background of the case noting that the Delhi High Court had issued an interim injunction in September to restrain Sangeeta Richards from instituting any actions or proceedings against Ms. Khobragade outside India on the terms or conditions of her employment

India's Reactions
An outraged India pared down the privileges of American diplomats and removed police barricades from outside their embassy in Delhi

US diplomats in consulates across India were asked to surrender identity cards issued to them and their families, which entitle them to special privileges including diplomatic immunity

 India has also withdrawn all airport passes for consulates and import clearances for the embassy

A US Congress delegation was snubbed by the government and senior leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi who refused to meet them.


Note

This is the second instance of a senior Indian foreign service officer in New York facing charges linked to human trafficking.

In 2012, a New York City Magistrate Judge ordered that Neena Malhotra, a diplomat at the Consulate, and her husband Jogesh be required to pay out nearly $1.5 million for forcing an underaged Indian girl, Shanti Gurung, to work without pay and meting out “barbaric treatment” to her in their plush East 43rd Street Manhattan apartment.