India seeks US diplomat’s withdrawal as Devyani returns

NEW DELHI: India asked the US to withdraw an embassy official in a fresh retaliatory measure just as a bitter dispute over the arrest of a diplomat in New York appeared to have cooled.
Relations have been in crisis since Dec. 12 when Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade was arrested for alleged visa fraud and making false statements relating to the employment of a domestic servant.
She was charged in a New York court on Thursday, but was granted full diplomatic immunity by Washington shortly
beforehand, which allowed her to return home.
Khobragade arrived at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi international airport at around 10.30 p.m. on Friday night, her father said.
“She has arrived and is very relaxed and happy. We are overwhelmed by the country’s support,” Uttam Khobragade said.
He said she had already left the airport and gone straight to a government apartment in the city, where she wanted to rest.
India’s decision earlier Friday to demand the withdrawal of an American diplomat in New Delhi came as analysts expected the countries to start the process of rebuilding their ties.
The American diplomat was a “similar rank” to Khobragade and is suspected of having helped the family of her maid travel to America where they were granted protection by prosecutors.
In Washington, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed that New Delhi had asked Washington to withdraw a specific embassy official.
“We’re looking to move our relationship forward. We’re looking to move past this challenging time, and we hope they’ll be a partner in that,” Psaki said.
US prosecutors said the family of the maid were evacuated from India to the US because of attempts to intimidate them.
Khobragade’s arrest outside her children’s school and treatment in custody, where the mother-of-two said she was subjected to a cavity search, outraged India.