US re-indicts Indian diplomat

India former deputy consul general in the USA, now back in India, has been re-accused of visa fraud and exploitation of her maid. Devyani Khobragade, the Indian diplomat, on Friday was re-indicted on US visa fraud charges that touched off an international stir after she was arrested and strip-searched in New York last year. The new indictment was filed on Friday night (Bangladesh time). It essentially reinstates the charges against Khobragade. On Wednesday, a judge dismissed the previous indictment for diplomatic immunity reasons but left a door open to federal prosecutors to revive the case. Her lawyer had no immediate comment. Khobragade is back in India. It’s unclear when, if ever, the former deputy consul general might appear in court in New York again. Prosecutors say she fraudulently obtained a work visa for her housekeeper and lied to the government about what she paid her. They accused her of forcing Sangeeta Richard to work 100-hour weeks at a salary of just over $1 an hour, far below the legal minimum US wage of $7.25 an hour. Her lawyer said she is immune from the prosecution. A State Department spokeswoman said earlier this week that the agency’s position was that Khobragade had full immunity from prosecution only for a single day in January and no longer enjoyed protection from prosecution once she left the country, according to a news agency.