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Devyani Khobragade: India-US row over diplomat deepens Devyani Khobragade: India-US diplomat row escalates
(about 3 hours later)
Senior Indian government officials have refused to meet a visiting US Congress delegation amid a worsening row over the alleged ill-treatment of an Indian diplomat in the US. India has ordered a series of reprisals against the United States amid a worsening row over the arrest of one of its diplomats in New York.
Media reports on Tuesday said Devyani Khobragade was "strip-searched" after she was briefly arrested last week. Police removed concrete barricades from the US embassy in Delhi and officials snubbed a visiting US delegation.
She was charged with visa fraud and making false statements over allegedly underpaying an Indian housekeeper. The diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, was handcuffed upon arrest last week and strip-searched, Indian reports say.
Ms Khobragade, deputy consul general in New York, has pleaded not guilty. She denies visa fraud and making false statements over allegations that she underpaid her Indian maid.
The Indian government said it was "shocked and appalled at the manner" in which the diplomat had been "humiliated" in the US. The maid had complained the diplomat was paying her less than the minimum stipulated under US visa requirements.
Washington has said that New York police followed "standard procedures" during her arrest. US officials say standard procedures were followed during the arrest of Ms Khobragade, who appeared in court on Friday and was freed on bail.
"Diplomatic Security, which is under the state department purview, followed standard procedures during her arrest," state department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters at a press conference on Monday. Ms Khobragade will challenge her arrest on grounds of diplomatic immunity, her lawyer said.
The US state department said under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, immunity only applies to acts performed in the exercise of consular duties.
'A snub''A snub'
On Tuesday, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde cancelled his meeting with the senior US Congressional delegation and his office said he was busy in parliament, but media reports in India described it as a "snub" to the US. India's government has said it is "shocked and appalled" at the manner in which Ms Khobragade, its deputy consul general in New York, was "humiliated" in the US.
The governing Congress party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi also refused to meet the delegations. On Tuesday, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde called her treatment unacceptable. He cancelled his meeting with the senior US Congressional delegation and his office said he was busy in parliament, but media reports in India described it as a "snub" to the US.
The governing Congress party Vice-President, Rahul Gandhi, and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi also refused to meet the delegations.
"Refused to meet the visiting USA delegation in solidarity with our nation, protesting ill-treatment meted to our lady diplomat in USA," Mr Modi tweeted."Refused to meet the visiting USA delegation in solidarity with our nation, protesting ill-treatment meted to our lady diplomat in USA," Mr Modi tweeted.
On Monday, the Speaker of India's parliament Meira Kumar and National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon had also refused to meet the visiting Congressional officials. On Monday, the Speaker of India's parliament, Meira Kumar, and National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon had also refused to meet the Congressional officials.
Mr Menon said Ms Khobragade's treatment was "despicable and barbaric".Mr Menon said Ms Khobragade's treatment was "despicable and barbaric".
Last week, Delhi also summoned the US ambassador to protest against the arrest and a foreign ministry official said India was "shocked and appalled" at the handling of the incident by the US. Among other measures taken, American diplomats in India are to lose privileges - reports say airport passes have been withdrawn for officials and their families, as well as import clearances being stopped.
Ms Khobragade, 39, was arrested last Thursday in New York and later freed on a $250,000 (£153,000) bond. Some reports in India said she was arrested while dropping her daughter at school and was handcuffed in public. One official said US diplomats' gay partners may also be liable to arrest for breaching Indian laws against homosexuality.
Ms Khobragade, 39, was arrested last Thursday in New York and later freed on a $250,000 (£153,000) bond after pleading not guilty to the charges. Some reports in India said she was arrested while dropping her daughter at school and was handcuffed in public.
Latest media reports said she had been "subjected to a humiliating strip search and kept in a cell with drug addicts".Latest media reports said she had been "subjected to a humiliating strip search and kept in a cell with drug addicts".
Law enforcement authorities in New York say Ms Khobragade "allegedly caused a materially false and fraudulent document to be presented, and materially false and fraudulent statements to be made, to the US Department of State in support of a visa application for an Indian national employed as a babysitter and housekeeper at her home in New York".Law enforcement authorities in New York say Ms Khobragade "allegedly caused a materially false and fraudulent document to be presented, and materially false and fraudulent statements to be made, to the US Department of State in support of a visa application for an Indian national employed as a babysitter and housekeeper at her home in New York".
If found guilty, Ms Khobragade faces a maximum sentence of 10 years for visa fraud and five years for making false statements. State department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters at a news conference on Monday: "Diplomatic security, which is under the state department purview, followed standard procedures during her arrest."
If found guilty, Ms Khobragade faces a maximum sentence of 10 years for visa fraud and five years for making false statements.