IFS officer DevyaniKhobragade is accused of givingfalse information whileapplying for a visa for a“babysitter and housekeeper”she brought from India, and ofunderpaying the help. She couldget up to 15 years in jail if convicted.
NEW YORK – A senior Indiandiplomat in New York wasarrested on Thursday for allegedvisa fraud, triggering a diplomaticrow between the two countrieswith foreign secretarySujatha Singh summoning USambassador to India NancyPowell to convey shock over the“absolutely unacceptable” publichandcuffing of the womanofficial.Singh told Powell thediplomat was entitled to courtesiesunder multilateral conventionsdealing with officials postedin foreign countries.The IFS officer DevyaniKhobragade is accused of givingfalse information whileapplying for a visa for a“babysitter and housekeeper”she brought from India, and ofunderpaying the help. She could get up to 15 years injail if convicted. Reacting to theincident, external affairs ministryspokesman SyedAkbaruddin said, “You cannothumiliate a mother of two publicly,”“We are shocked andappalled at the manner in whichshe has been humiliated by theUS authorities”, he said.“We have taken it up forcefullywith the US governmentthrough our embassy inWashington. We are also reiterating,in no uncertain terms, toUS embassy here that this kindof treatment to one of ourdiplomats is absolutely unacceptable,”Akabaruddin said.She was taken into custody on astreet as she was dropping herdaughter to school, after the USattorney for the SouthernDistrict of New York, IndiabornPreet Bharara, announcedcharges of visa fraud againsther. The next hearing is onJanuary 13.Citing Khobragade’sdiplomatic status, the Indianembassy in Washington urgedthe US government to “resolvethe matter with due sensitivity”.Identifying the help as SangeetaRichard, it said she was“absconding” since June andthere was already an interimorder from the Delhi high courtrestraining her from initiatinglegal proceedings againstKhobragade outside India.A Delhi court subsequentlyissued an arrest warrant forRichard, which was conveyed tothe US with a request to find herand serve it on her, the embassysaid.But the case made out byBharara’s office was different. Itsaid Khobragade had appliedfor an A-3 visa for Richard andsigned an agreement undertakingshe would pay her $4,500 amonth.But, the US attorney’soffice alleged, Khobragade hadalready struck a deal withRichard for a monthly salary ofRs. 30,000 ($573).At the visainterview, under Khobragade’sinstructions, Richard repeatedthe terms of the fictitious agreement,it claimed.“This type of fraud on the USand exploitation of an individualwill not be tolerated,” saidBharara. An 11-page criminalcomplaint unsealed in the courtalleged Khobragade made falsestatements about the salary andemployment terms of Richard.The charges carry prison sentencesranging between five and10 years. Richard has alleged shewas to be paid $4,500 permonth according to the employmentcontract furnished for hervisa, but Devyani later changedit to $537 a month.Richard also complained shewas forced to work more than40 hours a week.Diplomats and consular officerscan get domestic workers on A-3 visas after submitting proofsthat the helper will receive a fairwage, sufficient to support himselffinancially and comparableto that offered in the same areain the US.
