Indian diplomat indicted in NY, told to leave US

Associated Press

NEW YORK

An Indian diplomat accused of lying about how much she paid her housekeeper was ordered to leave the United States on Thursday after she was indicted on two criminal charges and Indian authorities refused to waive her immunity, authorities said.

Devyani Khobragade, who had been strip-searched when arrested, was expected to leave the country late Thursday or early today after she was charged by a federal grand jury with visa fraud and making false statements in a case that has triggered an outcry in India. She’s accused of fraudulently obtaining a work visa for her New York housekeeper.

A U.S. government official in Washington who was not authorized to speak about the case publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity said the U.S. accepted India’s request to accredit her to the United Nations, which confers broader immunity than what she enjoyed as a consular official. It would be almost unprecedented for the U.S. to deny such a request unless the diplomat was a national security risk.

The United States asked the government of India to waive the immunity, but the Indians refused, so the U.S. then “requested her departure” from the country, the official said.