This is the second instance of a senior Indian foreign service officer in New York facing charges linked to human trafficking.
Source/Credit: Daily Mail | UK
By Michael Zennie | December 13, 2013
She was cuffed and arrested Thursday and later released on $250,00 bail
A top Indian diplomat has been arrested in New York after she paid her house-keeper only $3.13 an hour and lied to get her into the country, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Deputy Consul General Devyani Khobragade, 39, has publicly campaigned for women's rights and gender equality.
But the woman she hired to clean her house and look after he two young daughters says Khobragade paid her less than $600 a month - $3.31 an hour - despite telling U.S. immigration officials the staffer would be paid $4,500 a month.
Khobragade's lawyer on Thursday said that his client enjoys diplomatic immunity and said he would moved to have the charges dismissed on those grounds.
But U.S. Attorney for Manhattan Preet Bharara was adamant.
'Foreign nationals brought to the United States to serve as domestic workers are entitled to the same protections against exploitation as those afforded to United States citizens,' he told the New York Daily News.
'The false statements and fraud were designed to circumvent those protections.'
Prosecutors allege that Khobragade falsely signed visa documents for the worker saying that she would be paid $4,500 a month.
Then, when the housekeeper came to the United States, Khobragade told her that she would be making only 30,000 rupees a month - less than $600, according to prosecutors.
Khobragade had the worker sign the second contract, which she kept, the charges state.
She was arrested Thursday and released on $250,000 bail after surrendering her passport so she can't flee the country.
She faces one count of visa fraud and one count of making false statements. If convicted, the charges carry a total maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
However, the Indian embassy is already fighting the charges, asking the American government to have the case dropped on the grounds of diplomatic immunity.
'The US side have been urged to resolve the matter with due sensitivity, taking into account... the diplomatic status of the officer concerned,' said a statement from the Indian embassy in Washington DC.
Further, when the allegations against Khobragade first surfaced, an Indian court issued an order against the housekeeper, ordering her not to take legal action against the diplomat, according to the Hindustan Times.
When it became apparent that the woman was cooperating with American authorities, the court issued an arrest warrant for the housekeeper and requested the U.S. officials have her detained and extradited back to India.
Before being posted in New York, Khobragade service with the Foreign Service in Germany, Italy and Pakistan.
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This is not the fault of the diplomat, but of the Indian government salaries. While the diplomat is herself making 4100$ a month in Indian rupees, how can she pay a maid $4600 a month? The Indian government should first rectify this imbalance and sign accords with the US government on the exclusive domain or privacy of salaries to all diplomatic personnel including maids. Else, close the Indian consulates in the USA. Also apply the quid pro quo policy by harassing US diplomatic personnel - enough of treating US diplomats with kid gloves. Will China take this lying down? Nope. Hope this government shows spine, before Narendra Modi takes up this issue as a question of Indian Government's pride.
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