India demands apology for ‘atrocious’ U.S. behavior toward diplomat

NEW DELHI - India’s information minister lashed out at the United States on Friday and demanded an apology for the treatment of a diplomat who was arrested in New York, saying America cannot behave “atrociously” and get away with it.

The Dec. 13 arrest and strip search of Devyani Khobragade, India’s deputy consul general in New York, has sparked a diplomatic storm between the U.S. and India. U.S. prosecutors say Khobragade lied on a visa form about how much she paid her housekeeper and actually paid her around $3 per hour. The diplomat has pleaded innocent.

India has said the strip search was degrading and unnecessary. The U.S. Marshals Service said it is standard procedure. But in India, such treatment for an educated, middle-class woman is almost unimaginable.

“The fact is that American authorities have behaved atrociously with an Indian diplomat, and obviously America has to make good for its actions,” Information Minister Manish Tewari told reporters. “I think it’s a legitimate expectation that if they have erred - and they have erred grievously in this matter - they should come forth and apologize.”

The case has become major news in India, touching on issues of class, status and the rights of domestic workers.The two sides have offered starkly different accounts of what happened. Khobragade says she’s being targeted by a vindictive housekeeper. The housekeeper, meanwhile, says she was overworked and underpaid and needed to escape.

About two dozen protesters gathered outside the Consulate General of India in New York in support of the housekeeper, carrying signs reading “Justice for domestic workers: hold diplomats accountable” and “Overworked, underpaid.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed regret over the incident. State Department officials have declined to provide details about the case, citing law enforcement restrictions that prevent them from discussing it. Theysay they are still assessing what occurred.

But U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said earlier this week that Khobragade was treated well, and he questioned why there was more sympathy in India for the diplomat than the housekeeper.

Khobragade is accused of submitting false documents to obtain a work visa for the housekeeper. According to prosecutors, she claimed she paid the woman $4,500 a month, but actually paid her around $3 per hour. She could face a maximum sentence of 10 years for visa fraud and five years for making a false declaration if convicted.

On Friday, the diplomat’s father, Uttam, said his daughter treated the housekeeper, Sangeeta Richard, like a member of the family. He said Richard had Sundays off and was free to attend church and visit her friends.

He filed a lawsuit in India earlier this year on his daughter’s behalf, saying Richard was wrongly accusing his daughter of treating her like a slave.

But Richard’s lawyer said Thursday that the housekeeper worked from morning until late at night, seven days week, for less than $3 an hour. Unable to get better pay, she made sure Khobragade’s two children were cared for one day and walked out, lawyer Dana Sussman said.

Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid has demanded the charges be dropped. Hesaid Richard had threatened over the summer to go to the police unless Khobragade arranged a new passport for her, along with a work visa and a large sum of money.

Khurshid did not say how much money Richard sought. But two top Indian officials said the housekeeper asked for $10,000 in the presence of an immigration lawyer and two other witnesses. Both officials have close knowledge of the case but spoke on condition that their names not be published because of its sensitivity.

Sussman said the claims are inaccurate.

Information for this article was contributed by Colleen Long, Cara Anna, Edith M. Lederer, Joe Frederick and Deb Riechmann of The Associated Press.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 12/21/2013

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