Row between India and US over arrest of diplomat intensifies

India yesterday pledged to bring home a female diplomat who was arrested and strip-searched in New York last week “at any cost”.

“It is my duty to bring the lady back, and we have to restore her dignity, and I will do it at any cost,” India foreign minister Salman Khurshid told parliament amid rising anger against the US and demands for greater retaliatory action against US diplomats posted in the country.

Devyani Khobragade (39), India's deputy consul general in New York, was arrested last Thursday on charges of submitting false documents to obtain a work visa for her Indian housekeeper and for paying her less than the minimum US wage. She was arrested and handcuffed as she dropped her children off at school.

'Indignities'
In an email to her colleagues in Delhi, Ms Khobragade said: "I must admit that I broke down many times as the indignities of repeated handcuffing, stripping and cavity searches and swabbing in a hold-up with common criminals and drug addicts were all being imposed upon me despite my incessant assertions of [diplomatic] immunity."

Ms Khobragade called on the Indian government to ensure her safety and that of her children and to preserve the dignity of the Indian diplomatic service, which she said was “unquestionably under siege”.

She was released last Friday on an €82,000 bail bond after pleading not guilty. If convicted she faces 15 years in jail.

Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh described Ms Khobragade's arrest as "deplorable". Yesterday evening India transferred her to the permanent mission at the UN, which entitles her to full diplomatic immunity. It is unclear how this will affect the charges already filed against her.

India’s parliament unanimously condemned the arrest and treatment of Ms Khobragade, with opposition MPs demanding that Mr Singh’s government maintain pressure on the US. Opposition leader Yashwant Sinha went further, saying gay partners of US diplomats in Delhi should be arrested for breaching Indian laws against homosexuality.

Besides removing security barricades around the US embassy in Delhi – in place since September 11th, 2001 – India has demanded that all US diplomats surrender their identity cards. It has also halted import clearances for the embassy, including alcohol, and asked for details from the US of salaries paid to Indian staff at its embassy and consulates.

The US insists Ms Khobragade does not enjoy immunity under the Vienna Convention on Consulate Relations except with respect to “acts performed in the exercise of consular functions”.