India-US Strategic News and Discussion

Frederic · Post by **Frederic** » 19 Dec 2013 23:53

Deepanker et al...

Please do not get side tracked by this bullcrap about "unfair wages" , "domestic slavery" etc.
Read Rudradev's posts in particular. The coordinated effort to pull off this sordid affair requires a number of pivotal masssan agencies to work in total synch. This was not a case of the domestic help being underpaid cum human trafficking etc etc. If not this, the Foggy Bottom worthies would have found some other lady diplomat on some other trumped up charges. Call it child abuse, downloading pirated movies or whatever.

The key point is this:
*It was decided to give a tight slap to India by Foggy Bottom, probably right after secretary Sujatha Singh's visit.
*After this and only after this go ahead signal, did they zero in on brave DK.
*The requirements would have been something like " has to be a lady diplomat, preferably young, if with children even better" for maximum humiliation potential.
*If not the brave DK, they would have turned their beady litte eyes on some other diplomat.
*Read between the lines. The real messge is hidden there.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 19 Dec 2013 23:55

chaanakya, Can you give synopsis of the Hindi letter? Disconcerting to see a yahoo email address and a smiley at the bottom.

Dipanker what about room and board? Two rooms in a NYC high rise.

Does that count or no?

saip · Post by **saip** » 20 Dec 2013 00:02

She could have been paid the minimum wage and then charged for board and lodge. It used to be that the minimum wage law did not apply for live in domestic workers. But probably the law has changed.

a_bharat · Post by **a_bharat** » 20 Dec 2013 00:03

Frederic wrote: The key point is this:
*It was decided to give a tight slap to India by Foggy Bottom, probably right after secretary Sujatha Singh's visit.
*After this and only after this go ahead signal, did they zero in on brave DK.
*The requirements would have been something like " has to be a lady diplomat, preferably young, if with children even better" for maximum humiliation potential.
*If not the brave DK, they would have turned their beady litte eyes on some other diplomat.
*Read between the lines. The real messge is hidden there.

I don't think so; they have been scheming at least since June 2013.

saip · Post by **saip** » 20 Dec 2013 00:04

U.S. owes India apology over strip-search

Naverette - CNN

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 20 Dec 2013 00:06

From one of the links posted above

Know Preet Bharara

New Delhi: Indian-born Preet Bharara is an Indian American attorney and the current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.He is the man behind Devyani Khobragade’s controversial arrest. This is not the first time that Preet Bharara is under the scanner.

In fact, he is said to have championed making some white-collar arrests in the past too.

Bharara ‘s office has charged Khobragade for giving false information and documents to support her domestic help’s visa application.

Earlier in 2012 Bharara brought down Rajat Gupta too. Rajat Gupta’s arrest hit the headlines in 2012. Rajat Gupta was a well-known entrepreneur and a Wall-Street icon with his origins from Kolkata who was charged with financial fraud, along with Raj Rajaratnam and Anil Kumar and 60 others.

As the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Bharara is considered to be one of the most powerful prosecutors in America and was handpicked by US President Barack Obama for this position in May 2009. His term expires next year and it is widely speculated he could run for higher political office.

So he has high backing. Dont be fooled by SD statements.

Saip and a_bharat, There is too much fog. The high impact effect masks some thing else in the weeds.

Most likely its covert operation being masked.

The US side panciked when the maid's family was arrested as they thoguht it was getting too close and hence exfiltrated them out.

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 20 Dec 2013 00:07

Boarding and lodging are excluded from min wage calculations acc to the chargesheet which cites state department policies I think.

Dipanker · Post by **Dipanker** » 20 Dec 2013 00:08

ramana wrote:chaanakya, Can you give synopsis of the Hindi letter? Disconcerting to see a yahoo email address and a smiley at the bottom.

Dipanker what about room and board? Two rooms in a NYC high rise.

Does that count or no?

If it was not part of the written agreement then it does not count/matter.

Lilo · Post by **Lilo** » 20 Dec 2013 00:10

The issue is stripping and cavity search of a Diplomat (who is also a woman) which amounts to Rape under Indian law. Further, Arbitrarily ignoring immunity to Diplomats (when ever it suits its interests) is Internationally Illegal under the sacred principles of Vienna convention .
Rest all felony velony is bakwas and all such cases are invariably settled by diplomatic precedents without the recourse to the dog and pony show being put up by massan authorities once they landed their paws on the Indian Diplomat.

Dipankar ji,
Even going by your demand that US law applies to rest of the world(Diplomats represent their respective countries) in this case, this stripping and cavity search is illegal as there is no basis to merit the same according to Massa rules.

GeorgeWelch · Post by **GeorgeWelch** » 20 Dec 2013 00:11

Prem Kumar wrote:Am re-posting this link because this thread moves so fast. Please read this for a complete chronology of events.

Its very clear that this was a cold & calculated action by the U.S State Department. A mere apology wouldnt suffice. US must be made to pay:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/in ... ident.html

What I get from reading that article is that Khobragade is very vindictive and had Richard's family arrested when Richard threatened to expose her.

GeorgeWelch · Post by **GeorgeWelch** » 20 Dec 2013 00:12

Lilo wrote:Further, Arbitrarily ignoring immunity to Diplomats (when ever it suits its interests) is Internationally Illegal under the sacred principles of Vienna convention

It's not arbitrary, not all consular officials have full diplomatic immunity.

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 20 Dec 2013 00:16

GeorgeWelch wrote:
Lilo wrote:Further, Arbitrarily ignoring immunity to Diplomats (when ever it suits its interests) is Internationally Illegal under the sacred principles of Vienna convention
It's not arbitrary, not all consular officials have full diplomatic immunity.

Her negotiation for a sum and a green card instead points to immigration fraud. We see what we want to see

Also case was filed upon advice by MEA. So MEA was vindictive? Nice try

The assistance of the State Department and US Embassy is sought in locating the maid and sending her back to India to pre-empt this being used as an immigration channel. The US Embassy conveys its understanding and promises to follow-up with the State Department and local authorities. No feedback is received India's requests, however.
Similar requests were made by the Indian Embassy in Washington D.C. to the State Department in Washington D.C.
Lack of cooperation by Philip Richard prompts Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to advise Khobragade on filing a First Information Report in Delhi against the Richard family for wilful deceit and attempt to cheat to illegally immigrate to the US by wrongful means.
Based on the MEA's advice, Khobragade also files for an anticipatory anti-suit injunction in the Delhi High Court so as to prevent filing of any case in the US by Richard to avoid ensuing litigation in the US.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 20 Dec 2013 00:17

what i am asking is this... is apology is all that India wants? or a seizure to this morality indifference between american life style and SD functioning compared with global standards on morality. this requires UN level probes, and get every nation on the planet commit to a new improvised geneva convention like to establish new processes that must be adhered by all nations.

sivab · Post by **sivab** » 20 Dec 2013 00:18

GeorgeWelch wrote:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/in ... ident.html

What I get from reading that article is that Khobragade is very vindictive and had Richard's family arrested when Richard threatened to expose her.

Really

Can you provide proof for bolded part in above article? If not you are just trolling.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 20 Dec 2013 00:21

GeorgeWelch wrote:
Prem Kumar wrote:Am re-posting this link because this thread moves so fast. Please read this for a complete chronology of events.

Its very clear that this was a cold & calculated action by the U.S State Department. A mere apology wouldnt suffice. US must be made to pay:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/in ... ident.html
What I get from reading that article is that Khobragade is very vindictive and had Richard's family arrested when Richard threatened to expose her.

So that is what you got from the maid agreeing to the 2nd contract with lower salary, signing it, and then after landing in US , realizing that she wants to live there forever and demand regular passport and help in naturalization else will shout "exploitation" ??

You guys deserve pakis for your allies. They know how to stoop down to US level and deal with them.

Dipanker · Post by **Dipanker** » 20 Dec 2013 00:23

Lilo wrote:The issue is stripping and cavity search of a Diplomat (who is also a woman) which amounts to Rape under Indian law. Further, Arbitrarily ignoring immunity to Diplomats (when ever it suits its interests) is Internationally Illegal under the sacred principles of Vienna convention .
Rest all felony velony is bakwas and all such cases are invariably settled by diplomatic precedents without the recourse to the dog and pony show being put up by massan authorities once they landed their paws on the Indian Diplomat.

Dipankar ji,
Even going by your demand that US law applies to rest of the world(Diplomats represent their respective countries) in this case, this stripping and cavity search is illegal as there is no basis to merit the same according to Massa rules.

Can you point out where exactly I have demanded that US law applies to the rest of the world? My understanding would be that Indian laws applies in India and US laws applies in US.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 20 Dec 2013 00:24

ramana wrote:chaanakya, Can you give synopsis of the Hindi letter? Disconcerting to see a yahoo email address and a smiley at the bottom.

Dipanker what about room and board? Two rooms in a NYC high rise.

Does that count or no?

...I sleep after praying daily. Today we have /Madam has got our own house completely.43rd 2 B Avenue Newyork PMI House. No is 24 and we are on 24th Story. There are Four bedrooms. There are two big bed rooms and one large hall. Down stairs there are two rooms and two rooms are upstairs. My room is separate and is downstairs.Room of elder daughter Ammya is downstairs and next to my room. And this whole family is very nice. I never ever feel I am their servant. Children call me Taayi ( mother’s Sister). They Call me SangeetaTaayi. Madam is also very nice and always laughing. Sir is very understanding and To a large extent he manages the chores and due to that I get lot of time. For 14 /15 daysWe stayed in another hotel which was called beekman Hotel which is on 49th Street 3 Avenue from where two very beautiful buildings are visible. We have shifted to new house on 17/12/12. Now it is 10.10 Night and I am now going to sleep, When Sir arranges SIM for me then I will talk to you on facebook. We will talk on Sangeeta.rechard@yahoo.com. I try very hard to speak in English but don’t know why I am not able to speak and forget. So bad.
Sangeeta.

Roughly tranaslated.
Well looks like that letter has been removed from the account.
Here is the original link. I have saved it on HDD.
http://www.indiatvnews.com/upload/news/ ... letter.jpg

member_22872 · Post by **member_22872** » 20 Dec 2013 00:24

How did the Ms. Sangeetha's family reach US? Is it not with thr help of US gov, and it is not human trafficking breaking Indian laws?

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 20 Dec 2013 00:25

Well if we talk of Vienna regulations, the maid doesn't need to be paid according to local laws at all. Somebody posted a link to the regs a few pages back. Consular officials and personal help are exempt from work permits and associated laws.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 20 Dec 2013 00:26

Dipanker wrote:
Lilo wrote:The issue is stripping and cavity search of a Diplomat (who is also a woman) which amounts to Rape under Indian law. Further, Arbitrarily ignoring immunity to Diplomats (when ever it suits its interests) is Internationally Illegal under the sacred principles of Vienna convention .
Rest all felony velony is bakwas and all such cases are invariably settled by diplomatic precedents without the recourse to the dog and pony show being put up by massan authorities once they landed their paws on the Indian Diplomat.

Dipankar ji,
Even going by your demand that US law applies to rest of the world(Diplomats represent their respective countries) in this case, this stripping and cavity search is illegal as there is no basis to merit the same according to Massa rules.
Can you point out where exactly I have demanded that US law applies to the rest of the world? My understanding would be that Indian laws applies in India and US laws applies in US.

not to contracts between Indian diplomats and Indian citizens.

krithivas · Post by **krithivas** » 20 Dec 2013 00:26

This narrative has already failed - The letter written in Hindi by the extortionist (Ms. Richard) proves that she was treated well ("like family") by the victim (Ms. Khobragade). You are welcome to hang on to your beliefs as it is permitted within the confines of BR.

I'm speculating that the extortionist being a converted Christian has to do with this self righteous fail move by power structures in the USA.

GeorgeWelch wrote:
Prem Kumar wrote:Am re-posting this link because this thread moves so fast. Please read this for a complete chronology of events.

Its very clear that this was a cold & calculated action by the U.S State Department. A mere apology wouldnt suffice. US must be made to pay:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/in ... ident.html
What I get from reading that article is that Khobragade is very vindictive and had Richard's family arrested when Richard threatened to expose her.

member_22872 · Post by **member_22872** » 20 Dec 2013 00:26

Prasad garu absolutely.

GeorgeWelch · Post by **GeorgeWelch** » 20 Dec 2013 00:27

Prasad wrote:Her negotiation for a sum

Nothing wrong with asking for what you are owed.

Prasad wrote:and a green card instead points to immigration fraud. We see what we want to see

She didn't ask for a green card, she asked for a 'regular Indian passport.' Nothing fraudulent about that.

Prasad wrote:Also case was filed upon advice by MEA. So MEA was vindictive? Nice try

Apparently, which supports her hesitancy to return to India

The assistance of the State Department and US Embassy is sought in locating the maid and sending her back to India to pre-empt this being used as an immigration channel.

No one believes they are seriously concerned about this hypothetical 'back-door' immigration channel.

No, it sounds an awful lot like 'give her back to us so we can give her what she deserves for embarrassing one of our officials.'

The US Embassy conveys its understanding and promises to follow-up with the State Department and local authorities. No feedback is received India's requests, however.

Gee, I wonder why. They've already shown themselves willing to arrest her family. Turning over Richard to them doesn't really seem like the humane choice.

Lack of cooperation by Philip Richard prompts Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to advise Khobragade on filing a First Information Report in Delhi against the Richard family for wilful deceit and attempt to cheat to illegally immigrate to the US by wrongful means.

More trying to punish the victim . . .

Based on the MEA's advice, Khobragade also files for an anticipatory anti-suit injunction in the Delhi High Court so as to prevent filing of any case in the US by Richard to avoid ensuing litigation in the US.

And now you have India trying to cover up her crimes . . .

ManjaM · Post by **ManjaM** » 20 Dec 2013 00:27

GeorgeWelch wrote:
Prem Kumar wrote: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/in ... ident.html
What I get from reading that article is that Khobragade is very vindictive and had Richard's family arrested when Richard threatened to expose her.

GW, have someone read you the article please.

GeorgeWelch · Post by **GeorgeWelch** » 20 Dec 2013 00:29

krithivas wrote:This narrative has already failed - The letter written in Hindi by the extortionist (Ms. Richard) proves that she was treated well ("like family") by the victim (Ms. Khobragade).

1. Asking for agreed upon back pay is not extortion.
2. Sure she was treated fine . . . until she threatened to expose them. I fail to see how having her family arrested can be called being treated well.

Dipanker · Post by **Dipanker** » 20 Dec 2013 00:30

venug wrote:How did the Ms. Sangeetha's family reach US? Is it not with thr help of US gov, and it is not human trafficking breaking Indian laws?

Didn't they fly Air India? That's is not an American carrier. Now as far as issuing visa to USA is concerned, that is purely American prerogative.

GeorgeWelch · Post by **GeorgeWelch** » 20 Dec 2013 00:30

Rahul M wrote:
Dipanker wrote:applies in India and US laws applies in US.
not to contracts between Indian diplomats and Indian citizens.

If both parties are in the US, US law absolutely applies.

You cannot breach minimum wage law no matter if you're both citizens of another country and no matter what agreements you sign.

member_22872 · Post by **member_22872** » 20 Dec 2013 00:32

Indian gov issued an arrest warrant against her husband in that scenario, even if they crawl and reach US, it is human trafficking

Lilo · Post by **Lilo** » 20 Dec 2013 00:32

GeorgeWelch wrote:
Prem Kumar wrote:Am re-posting this link because this thread moves so fast. Please read this for a complete chronology of events.

Its very clear that this was a cold & calculated action by the U.S State Department. A mere apology wouldnt suffice. US must be made to pay:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/in ... ident.html
What I get from reading that article is that Khobragade is very vindictive and had Richard's family arrested when Richard threatened to expose her.

^ GW ji,
That article(which itself is suspect as its from a Briturd rag - Daily wail which has in recent past created a prominent "India section" near its mast head and suddenly takes indecent interest in reporting Indian affairs and its india bureau cheif (is it still dean nelson) regularly croaks his anti India bias ala Al-BBC) has already been posted here long back and when I read it I didnt come across the impression you are alleging. So please to quote the relevant portions

As the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Bharara is considered to be one of the most powerful prosecutors in America and was handpicked by US President Barack Obama for this position in May 2009. His term expires next year and it is widely speculated he could run for higher political office.

Guess how he was projected by Indian media fools when he landed this office ?
It was as if an Indian landed on Moon.
Now his house slave behavior should be a lesson to all who give Pavlovian reflexes of pleasure and joy(without bothering for antecedents vis-a-vis past behavior towards his origin Nation) when ever an Indian origin guy lands a political office.

What's a full diplomatic immunity and what's a half diplomatic immunity hain ji? especially when an official (woman in question) is obviously a member of the diplomatic corps compared to the maid who is not even an US citizen (whose complaint against her employer ultimately and magically prevailed ) .

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 20 Dec 2013 00:33

GeorgeWelch wrote:
Prem Kumar wrote:Am re-posting this link because this thread moves so fast. Please read this for a complete chronology of events.

Its very clear that this was a cold & calculated action by the U.S State Department. A mere apology wouldnt suffice. US must be made to pay:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/in ... ident.html
What I get from reading that article is that Khobragade is very vindictive and had Richard's family arrested when Richard threatened to expose her.

would you like to withdraw that or do want to be warned for posting false info ?

the 'exploited' maid was gifted an iPad by this diplomat.

GeorgeWelch wrote:
Lilo wrote:Further, Arbitrarily ignoring immunity to Diplomats (when ever it suits its interests) is Internationally Illegal under the sacred principles of Vienna convention
It's not arbitrary, not all consular officials have full diplomatic immunity.

a deputy consul has limited immunity and is anyway not subject to local laws. she cannot be treated like a petty criminal under any circumstances, whatever be the charges and this is a rather mundane issue. US diplomats are frequently guilty of much more. if India throws the book at them half the US embassy would end up in tihar.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 20 Dec 2013 00:33

ramana wrote:chaanakya, Can you give synopsis of the Hindi letter? Disconcerting to see a yahoo email address and a smiley at the bottom.

Dipanker what about room and board? Two rooms in a NYC high rise.

Does that count or no?

Not sure why original post here also vanished and image on imageshack was removed. Reuploaded and reposting just to confirm if what Snowd en told was true.
Translation is in previous post.

sivab · Post by **sivab** » 20 Dec 2013 00:34

GeorgeWelch wrote:I fail to see how having her family arrested can be called being treated well.

You are trolling again without giving any proof in the article you quoted.

vivek.rao · Post by **vivek.rao** » 20 Dec 2013 00:34

http://www.niticentral.com/2013/12/19/m ... 70273.html
Devyani Khobragade row: More to it than meets the eye

Our diplomatic mess is of our own making

That there is a larger conspiracy behind the episode is evident from the fact that on December 10, two days before the diplomat’s arrest (December 12), Sangeeta Richards’s husband, Philip, and two children quietly flew to America by an Air India flight. Somebody in Washington had helped them procure visas, a highly unusual development, since the Indian Government had revoked Sangeeta Richards’s official passport in July and asked for her to be deported to India. Usually such a dramatic evacuation is done only to protect US spies; hence it is important to investigate the Richard family, its associations, and bank accounts.

The Richard family seems well networked with the diplomatic community. Sangeeta’s father-in-law reportedly works in the American embassy in Delhi; her mother-in-law is said to have worked for a senior US diplomat; her husband, Philip, was a driver with the Mozambique embassy. Philip was granted a T-visa, which allows victims of human trafficking and immediate family members to remain and work temporarily in the United States if they agree to assist law enforcement in testifying against the perpetrators. This suggests a larger conspiracy.

American conspiracy behind Devyani Khobragde’s arrest

Sangeeta Richards arrived in the US in November 2012 to work as a domestic help for India’s deputy consul general in New York. She allegedly wanted to do extra work outside on her off days, but was told it was illegal under her visa status and because she had an official passport. But on June 23, she simply walked out, and two weeks later turned up at an immigration attorney’s firm in Manhattan, New York, alleging that she was overworked and underpaid. She had clearly rustled up some powerful support, or was known to the US authorities all along, given the employment profile of her marital family.

The MEA has since revealed that on July 1, Devyani Khobragade received a telephone call from an unidentified woman who said Richards would not go to court if her employment was terminated and she was paid for 19 hours of work per day. On July 2, the diplomat informed the Office of Foreign Missions and the New York Police Department about the call, in writing. But on July 8, she was called by the immigration lawyer’s office and asked to pay $10,000, convert Sangeeta Richards’s passport into an ordinary one and help her get a visa to stay on in America.

India needs to show more diplomatic muscle: YES / NO

Alarmed at this development, the Indian Government revoked Richards’s official passport, which made her status illegal in the US, and asked the State Department to locate and send her back to India. The request was repeated in September; the same month, the Delhi High Court issued an interim injunction restraining Richards from instituting any action or proceeding against Khobragade outside India regarding her employment and to settle all disputes in India as both women worked for the Government of India. The Indian mission informed the US authorities that as the maid was seeking a US visa, she was violating laws in both countries. On November 21, the Saket district court issued a non-bailable warrant for Sangeeta Richards, and India asked the US to help serve the warrant and repatriate the maid.

The MEA clearly erred in not issuing an immigration alert for Richards’s husband and children once the State Department proved so uncooperative, and since Philip Richards initially filed a missing persons report about his wife but later withdrew it. The authorities took six days after Khobragade’s arrest to realise that the family had flown the coop.

With hindsight, it seems that Richards’s walkout was part of a plan in concert with American authorities; the luckless Indian diplomat seems collateral damage. New Delhi must figure out the US game plan and enlighten the nation. Sangeeta Richards has received US hospitality for six months and now her family has surreptitiously been taken to settle in America. This makes a mockery of the US claim that Khobragade was arrested because she was not paying her staff according to the hourly minimum wage in America.

The Sangeeta Richards episode brings to mind the 2004 affair of Army Major and CIA mole, Rabinder Singh, who was serving as a joint secretary in the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW), when he escaped to the United States with his wife after causing untold damage to India’s national interests and security. Former R&AW special secretary and head of the counter-intelligence unit, Amar Bhushan, uncovered the scandal in his book, Escape to Nowhere. It seems Indian intelligence was aware of Singh’s betrayal and was monitoring him closely for three months when he suspected that he had been unmasked and escaped via Kathmandu with the help of the CIA station chief there.

The lesson which India never learnt is that the US compulsorily retired the Kathmandu station head to punish him for failing to evacuate Singh covertly and exposing CIA’s hand in the episode. But in India, the 57 employees of R&AW who regularly shared information with Singh remained in the organisation; 26 were not even asked for an explanation and 31 who had shared operational details with him were posted abroad.

After Dr Manmohan Singh became Prime Minister, the CIA tried to infiltrate the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), which is part of the Prime Minister’s Office. Some NSCS staffers were suspected of having clandestine links with an unnamed lady CIA officer posted as a diplomat in the US embassy in Delhi. Her task was to liaise with concerned Government departments in connection with the Indo-US Cyber Security Forum set up when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister. She reportedly used this opportunity to allegedly recruit moles in the NSCS, which coordinates the work of the Indo-US Cyber Security Forum.

Previously also, the Indian intelligence community has been suborned by the CIA at middle and senior levels. Just eight months after Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1984, India’s biggest and most serious spy scandal broke, resulting in the arrest of 15 officials, including TN Kher, personal assistant to Principal Secretary PC Alexander. The scandal involved thousands of top secret documents and code books being photocopied and faxed from the PMO itself. Alexander resigned on ‘moral grounds’.

Then, the head of the R&AW office in Chennai, an IPS officer in the rank of director, was found to have clandestine contacts with a CIA officer posted in the US consulate there. Tipped off by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), R&AW immediately detained and interrogated him for one year at New Delhi’s Tihar Jail, but he was not prosecuted.

In the 1990s, when PV Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister, a very senior IPS officer serving in the IB was suspected to be working for Heidi August, a CIA officer posted as a diplomat at the US embassy in Delhi. He was exposed when a junior IB officer accidentally discovered that Heidi August had a mobile phone registered in the senior officer’s name. The officer was sent on premature retirement after the IB and R&AW confirmed his treason.

This brings us back to Devyani Khobragade, who has been unjustly accused of underpaying an employee who is possibly an ‘asset’ of a foreign agency. The Indian Government, which failed to retaliate when former President APJ Abdul Kalam was double frisked at an American airport, former Defence Minister George Fernandes was strip searched, and attempts were made to humiliate diplomat Hardeep Puri, must ensure that Washington release the diplomat unconditionally and with full apology, and explain its inexplicable interest in the Richards family.

The initial Indian reaction to the arrest – snub to a visiting Congress delegation; revocation of diplomatic IDs to US consul staff and their families; withdrawal of airport passes and import clearances; removal of security barricades around the American Embassy on Shanti Path; and demand for information about wages paid to Indians employed by the US mission and by individual diplomats in India – is inadequate given the enormity of the provocation.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 20 Dec 2013 00:36

GeorgeWelch wrote:
Rahul M wrote: not to contracts between Indian diplomats and Indian citizens.
If both parties are in the US, US law absolutely applies.

You cannot breach minimum wage law no matter if you're both citizens of another country and no matter what agreements you sign.

in the case of diplomats US laws are worthless, wage or whatever.

use google, start reading up on diplomatic immunity.

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 20 Dec 2013 00:37

GeorgeWelch wrote: She didn't ask for a green card, she asked for a 'regular Indian passport.' Nothing fraudulent about that.

She did ask for it. In the office of an immigration attorney in the presence of consular officials who confirm. Say what again?

Anyway, the issue here isn't about the wage law at all. Which in itself is contravention of the vienna regulations. So the us is on dubious grounds right there. Further, it is about the treatment meted out to her. Despite court ordered warrants for the woman and the MEA asking for tracking the woman, the state dept didn't do anything. That is not how diplomacy works. Declare the woman PNG and be done with it. Heck, the MEA enabled the exit of an american staffer in delhi after she killed someone by driving over them. Cuffing them by marshalls isn't.

member_22872 · Post by **member_22872** » 20 Dec 2013 00:38

RahulM ji, someone posted Vienna convention declaration and it was clear, the host country rules dont apply even to consular employees.

GeorgeWelch · Post by **GeorgeWelch** » 20 Dec 2013 00:39

Lilo wrote:What's a full diplomatic immunity and what's a half diplomatic immunity hain ji? especially when an official (woman in question) is obviously a member of the diplomatic corps compared to the maid who is not even an US citizen (whose complaint against her employer ultimately and magically prevailed ) .

Full diplomatic immunity means you can literally get away with murder

Limited diplomatic immunity means you have immunity in actions related to your job, but not for other activities.

Thus you can't get arrested for spying (your job) but you can get arrested for not paying your nanny.

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 20 Dec 2013 00:39

even by any normal standards, no country goes to the length of extracting the family of a foreign consular worker UNLESS that worker had contributed something of vital importance to the country which is doing the extraction. that is the only thing that makes sense in this.

contrary to Preet Bharara's pontificating, this is NOT a common practice. NO AMERICAN POLICE DEPT or DA's OFFICE has the independent authority of extracting foreign citizens residing in their respective country of citizenship. NONE, whatsoever. the channels which can do that are completely different, and the reasons are usually quite muddled and certainly won't be for "public" consumption without significant brushing up.

GeorgeWelch · Post by **GeorgeWelch** » 20 Dec 2013 00:40

Rahul M wrote:use google, start reading up on diplomatic immunity.

She didn't have full diplomatic immunity.

member_22872 · Post by **member_22872** » 20 Dec 2013 00:40

Sangeetha stated she didn't want to leave US