India disappointed at US re-indictment of diplomat

FE Team | Published: March 16, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Devyani

NEW DELHI, Mar 15 (AFP): India Saturday said it was "disappointed" by new US visa fraud charges against an Indian diplomat over her employment of a domestic servant and warned the move could reignite a bitter row between the countries.
Government spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said India was "disappointed" the US justice department "chose to obtain a second indictment" against Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade even though a US judge threw out similar charges earlier in the week.
"Any measures consequent to this decision in the US will unfortunately impact upon efforts on both sides to build the India-US strategic partnership, to which both sides are committed," the Indian spokesman warned.
"This was an unnecessary step," Akbaruddin said in a emailed statement to AFP, calling the case "without merit" and adding the Indian government will "no longer engage on this case in the United States' legal system".
A New York grand jury re-indicted the senior diplomat accusing her of two counts of visa fraud and making false statements.
Khobragade, who has since returned to India, was arrested December 12 outside her children's school and later strip-searched, enraging the Indian government and some of the Indian public.
The row fanned resentment between the two countries, which had embraced each other as strategic partners.