# U.S. Authorities strip search Indian diplomat (female). **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591 "2013-12-17T20:02:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/481 "2013-12-28T12:27:19Z")
We better get ready for at least one American arrest. Tax charges are so easy to prosecute. Americans dread tax audits. Even if they’ve tried being honest theres always some deduction that gets denied. Or you earned a few bucks with a side job. It seems likely an Indian investigation will turn up somebody thats been working and not reporting the income. > **[World News: Latest International Headlines, Video, and Breaking Stories From...](https://www.nbcnews.com/world?lite)** > > Get the latest news, updates, and video from around the globe. > [@](#): > > An Indian government official said on Friday that New Delhi had asked the U.S. embassy to provide details about people working in American schools and other U.S. government facilities to determine if they had permission to do so and if they were paying taxes that are mandatory under Indian law. > > Diplomats’ spouses who take up work in schools or other embassy facilities are supposed to inform the host country. > > Violations of this kind had often been ignored, but now India would not turn a blind eye, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. > > The U.S. embassy declined to comment on the latest steps. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/482 "2013-12-28T17:37:28Z")
> [@truthSeeker2](#): > > Some info regarding this case, again just want share do not intend to persuade anyone here - > > Sangeeta Richard’s in-laws last worked for Uzra Zeya,who is now US Asstnt Sectretary–Bureau of Democracy/HumanRights/Labor in the USA. > > It was Sangeeta Richards who approached Devyani Kobragade for employment. > > **It was Sangeeta Richards who insisted on the second contract as a means to reassure her that Rs 30,000 pm will be paid to her family while she works for Devyani Khobragade in the USA.** > > Sangeeta’s in laws worked for the US embassy (in particular for someone involved in HR/Labor issues). These person(s) in the US embassy may have orchestrated the whole thing. All right, let’s stipulate that the part of your post which I emphasized is correct. That Ms. Richards was signatory to two contracts, one for 9.75/hr plus overtime compensation, plus meals and lodging; the other, a contract to provide that out of that 9.75/hr, 30k IRS was to be deposited in an account in India in her name (presumably for the benefit of her family members still in India). Has Ms. Khobragade been claiming that the remaining 80k\* IRS per month had been paid to Ms. Richards up until the time she “absconded”? (\*my tablecloth calculation of the difference between 9.75/hr X 160 X 13 / 12 and 30k IRS) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/483 "2013-12-28T17:57:45Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > I have never said that the employer did not benefit. Sitting in India, both the employer and the maid benefit from the agreement that they made. Which is why they made it. Again, do you suppose that the US embassy did not conduct a visa interview at all for the maid? That the maid didn’t know what to say if asked? She knew what she was getting into and she got into it because it was a great deal for her. It was also a great deal for the employer, of course. They were both going to be better off by breaking the law with this agreement. Once in the USA however, only the maid benefits from the deviation from their agreement that she has made, and from making accusations of abuse. \*\*It’s like a brilliant game theory example in fact, and had Khobragade ever studied any, she would have known not to have made the arrangement in which there was such a strong incentive for her maid to break it. \*\*She definitely did behave stupidly and illegally. There is no question about it, and I have never said she didn’t. > [@brickbacon](#): > > The problem with this nonsense you keep repeating (aside from the many things already mentioned) is that it’s just not true in the eyes of the person that matters most here, and who would have the best perspective to judge. That person is the maid. If this was so clearly a better proposition for her, why did she quit? > [@bldysabba](#): > > **She quit because she could make herself even better off than she was.** She couldn’t have gotten into that position without Khobragade, but once there, by accusing Khobragade of abuse she could make herself even better off. It’s been implied in this thread that (perhaps even by you, although I’m not entirely sure) that this kind of arrangement was standard practice with domestics working for the consulate personnel. If so, it’s odd that the current situation is the first time that any domestic noticed how strong that incentive was. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/484 "2013-12-28T18:09:31Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > No it was not on the table. Under American minimum wage that woman was unaffordable. > [@Marley23](#): > > Then a maid wasn’t on the table. Once a maid is contracted and agrees to work in the U.S., she has to get the minimum wage. And in fact Khobragade said she would pay her even more than that. > [@bldysabba](#): > > By disappearing and accusing Khobragade of abuse, Richards is MUCH better off, while Khobragade is worse off. > [@Marley23](#): > > Assuming the authorities believe Richards, that is. If they don’t believe her, she’s even worse off - and possibly facing criminal charges in India. To say nothing of criminal charges in the United States, since she (in this scenario) had also perjured herself in her visa interview. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/485 "2014-01-07T19:55:14Z")
Both sides have some breathing room now. It seems both sides have a vested interest in finding a solution. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/devyani-khobragade-agrees-to-waive-indictment-deadline/2014/01/06/419effe6-770a-11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2\_story.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/devyani-khobragade-agrees-to-waive-indictment-deadline/2014/01/06/419effe6-770a-11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2_story.html) A question. Isn’t this a NY state court case? Or is it Federal? WP mentions a Federal court hearing. > [@](#): > > The crisis surrounding the case of the Indian consular official whose arrest last month sent U.S.-India relations into a tailspin was at least temporarily cooled late Monday when the diplomat agreed to waive a Jan. 13 deadline to indict her. > > In a request to federal court in New York, the attorney for Devyani Khobragade, charged last month with submitting fraudulent visa documents for her Indian maid, said that “significant communications . . . between the prosecution and the defense and amongst other government officials” could be undermined if the indictment threshold is crossed. > [@](#): > > The filing came after Indian authorities said they had unearthed cases of tax and other legal violations by U.S. Embassy staff members in New Delhi that they are prepared to make public and act upon if Khobragade’s case is not resolved to India’s satisfaction. > > Indian officials declined to characterize their plans as a threat. But “it could all come out in the open like a can of worms,” said one senior official who was not authorized to speak openly to the news media on the matter. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/486 "2014-01-07T20:03:50Z")
I see now it is Federal charges under the Southern District of New York. > **[Khobragade%2C%20Devyani%20Complaint.pdf](https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-sdny/legacy/2015/03/25/Khobragade%2C%20Devyani%20Complaint.pdf)** > > 99.55 KB ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/487 "2014-01-07T20:07:27Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > A question. Isn’t this a NY state court case? Or is it Federal? WP mentions a Federal court hearing. Federal. ETA: As you now know. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/488 "2014-01-07T21:13:56Z")
Thanks pravnik. 😉 I’m relieved that the prosecutor isn’t rushing the indictment. Both sides needs time to figure out a face saving solution. Escalating it will just make things worse. Thankfully India is holding back on any retaliatory charges while negotiations continue. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/489 "2014-01-09T16:43:58Z")
The judge denied the request. So the U.S. will get its indictment. I wonder what retaliatory charges will be filed against our staff in India? I’d bet there will be a tit for tat response. [http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/01/09/india-usa-diplomat-idINDEEA0801420140109](http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/01/09/india-usa-diplomat-idINDEEA0801420140109) > [@](#): > > In an order issued on Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan refused to extend the January 13 deadline by which a preliminary hearing must be held or an indictment filed in the case. > > In asking Netburn on Monday to extend the deadline, Khobragade’s lawyer, Daniel Arshack, said it was negatively interfering with plea negotiations with the government. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/490 "2014-01-09T16:53:43Z")
Please let me know when any US officials are involved in human trafficking, I will be the first to celebrate their arrest and punishment under international law. India’s should have terminated her immediately for trafficking under their flag and lying under oath to US officials for personal benefit. That they defend her in any way is absolutely abhorrent. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/491 "2014-01-09T21:05:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The judge denied the request. So the U.S. will get its indictment. I wonder what retaliatory charges will be filed against our staff in India? I’d bet there will be a tit for tat response. > > [Reuters | Breaking International News & Views](http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/01/09/india-usa-diplomat-idINDEEA0801420140109) Do you mean to say that India would fabricate charges against U.S. personnel just to create some sense of balance? ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/492 "2014-01-09T21:41:28Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Do you mean to say that India would fabricate charges against U.S. personnel just to create some sense of balance? I think there was some discussion earlier in the thread about India turning a blind eye to certain violations by US staff in India (or their spouses). Where that appears in this ~500-post thread, I do not know. I also don’t believe it was cited. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/493 "2014-01-09T23:35:47Z")
Post #481 has a NBC link to investigations in India. Confirming Americans had permission to work and if local taxes were paid. I don’t know what they’ve uncovered but it seems likely they’ll find somebody that did something wrong. The US is insistent on prosecuting their representative. Why should our people get a free pass? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/494 "2014-01-09T23:54:22Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The US is insistent on prosecuting their representative. Why should our people get a free pass? They shouldn’t, but when this was discussed earlier, the implication was that India was going to make people do a bunch of paperwork because they were angry about the prosecution. Anyway the grand jury has indicted her. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/495 "2014-01-10T00:01:14Z")
They are reporting the US has granted her immunity and asked her to leave. The US saves face with the indictment and India gets her back. A win, win for both sides. Perhaps this incident is over? > **[India diplomat Devyani Khobragade indicted in US visa row](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-25677678)** > > An Indian diplomat at the centre of a row between the US and India is charged by the American authorities with visa fraud. > [@](#): > > An Indian diplomat whose arrest in the US sparked protests from India has been formally indicted by a US grand jury. > > However, prosecutors said that Devyani Khobragade, 39, had also been granted immunity and that US officials had asked her to leave the country. > > Prosecutors initially said she had already left but were later told by her lawyer that she was still in the US. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/496 "2014-01-10T00:40:48Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > They are reporting the US has granted her immunity and asked her to leave. The US saves face with the indictment and India gets her back. A win, win for both sides. Why does the US need to save face? Every time someone is acquitted in federal court, the US government just lost face. What’s wrong with losing face? As for the India side, far from everyone there took Khobragade’s side, and I can’t see a danger of India turning into a US adversary. > [@](#): > > Why should our people get a free pass? If any US diplomats appear to be abusing their servants, they should not be given the free pass the US just gave Devyani Khobragade. This isn’t to say that Devyani Khobragade is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We’ll never find that out because the US government caved to pressure. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/497 "2014-01-10T00:59:15Z")
The US took a firm stand on the law requiring Diplomats and Consulate staff to pay their domestic help minimum wage. I’d hope changes are already being made to comply with US law. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/498 "2014-01-10T02:32:22Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The US took a firm stand on the law requiring Diplomats and Consulate staff to pay their domestic help minimum wage. No it didn’t. We unnecessarily accepted the Indian government’s attempt to short-circuit justice by promoting her to be a UN diplomat, with immunity, after her arrest. You could say we are being firm in expelling her from the US, but that looks to me more like an attempt to sweep the problem away. And it’s a ridiculous one, since, as I interpret this next link, once she touches base in India, she is (if OK with her bosses) free to return to New York, on the next plane, to resume her UN job and treat her new servant however she likes. > **[Devyani Khobragade indicted for visa fraud, granted diplomatic immunity |...](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Devyani-Khobragade-indicted-for-visa-fraud-granted-diplomatic-immunity/articleshow/28609881.cms)** > > India News: Senior Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade was indicted for visa fraud and making false statements but can leave the US as she has been accorded diplom Now, it may well be that she won’t be back anytime soon. I can’t believe Manmohan Singh, who stands out above other politicians with his reputation for incorruptibility, decency and kindness, likes being a defender of servant abuse. However, if the next PM is Narendra Modi, she could easily find her way back. Firmness would have been going to trial. If convicted, firmness would have meant jail, although I prefer probation over prison whenever remotely reasonable. > [@](#): > > I’d hope changes are already being made to comply with US law. Why should they do that when, with our help, they just made a mockery of our law? Also, realistically, many feel a need for a servant, and they cannot afford to pay the minimum wage. If you are going to offer low pay, you damn well better compensate with great working conditions and respectful treatment. The US Attorney in New York isn’t searching out labor law violations among consular officials, and I think that’s reasonable. But if a credible complaint, from a miserable servant, comes into their office, it should be taken more seriously than happened here. ---
**Author:** ![truthSeeker2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7cd45c/32.png) [@truthSeeker2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthSeeker2)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/499 "2014-01-10T08:44:54Z")
Agree with PhillyGuy, once you stand up for something, you should not back out. From my point of view, the apology didn’t come and we haven’t yet thrown one of theirs in the lock up and subjected to custodial harrassment. But the disappointing indian government would be satisfied with this outcome only. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591/500 "2014-01-10T09:16:22Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > It’s been implied in this thread that (perhaps even by you, although I’m not entirely sure) that this kind of arrangement was standard practice with domestics working for the consulate personnel. > > If so, it’s odd that the current situation is the first time that any domestic noticed how strong that incentive was. I have implied no such thing. However, it’s not the first time that this has happened. This is apparently the third incident of Indian diplomats being asked to pay damages in the past few years. There have also apparently been plenty of incidents with other country’s missions. I would be gobsmacked at the stupidity of the Indian diplomatic establishment, but I have never been under any illusions about the effectiveness of my government’s systems/officials. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-authorities-strip-search-indian-diplomat-female/676591.md?page=26)