Washington: US officials admitted that they strip-searched a female Indian diplomat after she was arrested in New York in a new twist to a growing row that has seen India hit back with reprisals such as removing security barriers around the US embassy.
The State Department sought to calm tensions saying Thursday’s arrest of Devyani Khobragade was an isolated case, and should not be allowed to damage the close ties between India and the United States.
But confirmation from the US Marshals service that Khobragade was treated like any person detained in the bustling metropolis will likely only further fuel Indian ire.
Khobragade was detained for allegedly underpaying her domestic helper who is also an Indian national and for lying on the helper’s visa application form.
Her case has dominated the Indian press in recent days, and India has denounced her arrest while she was dropping her children off at school as “humiliating” launching a series of retaliatory measures against US diplomats in New Delhi.
State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf admitted it was a “sensitive issue” but insisted it was a “separate and isolated incident” which should not “be tied together” and allowed to affect broader “close” US-Indian ties.
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