India orders US to pull out diplomat
Print Edition
India ordered the United States yesterday to withdraw one of its diplomats from New Delhi, as the Indian consul at the center of the row between the two countries flew home after she was indicted in New York for visa fraud.
Devyani Khobragade, 39, India’s deputy consul-general in New York, was arrested on December 12 and indicted on Thursday before being effectively expelled from the country. Her arrest set off a furor in India amid disclosures that she was handcuffed and strip-searched.
“We called the US mission to withdraw an officer of similar rank of Devyani as reciprocal action,” a government official said.
In New York, a federal grand jury indicted Khobragade for visa fraud and lying about her nanny’s pay, but allowed to leave after she was granted a higher level of diplomatic immunity.
She faces arrest if she returns to the United States.
The month-long row has soured the broader US-India bilateral relationship, leading to sanctions against American diplomats in New Delhi and the postponement of visits to India by senior US officials and another by a US business delegation.
Incensed by the treatment of Khobragade, India removed some security barriers from near the US embassy and reduced the number of envoys with immunity. On Wednesday, it ordered the US Embassy to close a club for expatriate Americans there.
“We’ll focus on one day at a time, today is the day we focus on getting Devyani back,” said India’s foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin.
Akbaruddin said Khobragade left after being granted full diplomatic immunity and was being transferred to a post in New Delhi. Her father said she was expected to arrive in the capital late in the evening.
Her husband and children, who are US citizens, are expected to follow her to India shortly, her father said.
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