Far deeper and hitherto unknown dimensions have emerged in the raging Indo-US diplomatic row over the recent arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade by American authorities following complaints by her maid Sangeeta Richard.
A PTI report from Washington on Wednesday night said the US regretted the diplomat’s arrest and this “isolated” incident should not hurt “close and vital” bilateral ties. Secretary of State John Kerry called up National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and expressed regret over the treatment meted out to Khobragade.
On December 10, two days before the United States authorities in New York publicly handcuffed and arrested Khobragade, Sangeeta’s husband Philip Richard and their two children had left India for the US. The three of them were apparently issued T-visas – a particular category of US visa exclusively reserved for the victims of human trafficking and their families.
Sangeeta herself, too, is understood to have been either issued a T-visa or in the process of obtaining one with the help of a non-profit organisation and an immigration lawyer in the US. Sangeeta, the US authorities have maintained, has been officially untraceable in the US after the Indian government revoked her official passport in the wake of her disappearance from Khobradage’s home last June. But it now appears that the US authorities know about her whereabouts and her husband and children must have joined her.
The T-visas allow them to remain and work in the US temporarily if they agree to assist law enforcement agency in testifying against accused persons. Their T-visas would also make them eligible for seeking permanent residency status in the country after three years.
Indian officials expressed surprise on Wednesday that the US Embassy here issued visas to Philip and the couple’s children even though India had formally warned the US government of the possibility of an illegal immigration attempt by Sangeeta’s family members.
The Indian government suspects that the US Embassy had ignored its warning and facilitated their travel to New York. The reasons for suspecting the US connivance are that Sangeeta’s father-in-law is believed to be working in the Embassy here. Moreover, Sangeeta’s mother-in-law is also known to the US Embassy officials here as she had worked with a senior US diplomat.
Indian officials believe that Philip, a driver with Mozambique Embassy here, was given visa to travel to the US easily and quickly, cutting short the otherwise elaborate visa issue procedure.
They wondered if the US Embassy here had followed all the requirements for granting visa to Philip and his two children, particularly those related to fund adequacy and financial deposits in his bank account.
The US Embassy, according to these officials, was also in the know of an FIR filed on behalf of Khobragade in the capital in July in which both Philip and Sangeeta were named.
The Delhi High Court, which issued an interim injunction in September to restrain Sangeeta from instituting any actions or proceedings against Khobragade outside India on the terms or conditions of her employment, had also served notices to her and her husband. The Metropolitan Magistrate of the South District Court in New Delhi had also issued an arrest warrant against Sangeeta under Sections 387, 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code.
There are also questions about how Philip and the two children obtained passports, which were issued to them on September 17. An enquiry is understood to have been launched in this regard.
In the wake of these revelations, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told both Houses of Parliament during the day that the 1999 batch IFS officer was innocent and she was “virtually trapped” in a “conspiracy”.
Meanwhile, the government shifted Khobragade from the Indian Consulate General in New York to the country’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in the same city. The move is apparently intended to ensure greater diplomatic immunity for her.