By Ankit Panda
The fiasco over the arrest of an Indian diplomat in New York could derail flourishing US-India ties.
The arrest of an Indian diplomat in New York on charges of visa fraud has spiraled out of control into a major diplomatic row between the United States and India. As Sanjay Kumar reports for The Diplomat, Devyani Khobragade’s arrest in New York City sparked outrage almost ubiquitously across India. In a remarkably swift and decisive response, New Delhi struck back against the United States’ diplomatic presence in India with a variety of measures.
The humiliating method in which U.S. law enforcement handled the arrest of the Indian diplomat were alleged to violate the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations which grants diplomatic immunity to foreign officials, and guarantees courteous treatment if arrested for a “grave crime.” The United States alleged that Khobragade did not possess diplomatic immunity as a consular officer. Since The Diplomat’s earlier report, New Delhi has begun the process of transferring Khobragade to the Indian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, where she will be afforded full diplomatic immunity acknowledged by the U.S. Department of State.
Read the full story at The Diplomat