US envoy expresses regret for circumstances of Indian woman diplomat's arrest

The US envoy in India has expressed regret about the "circumstances" of the arrest of an Indian woman diplomat in New York last month on charges of visa fraud and underpaying her maid. In a New Year message to Indians, the U.S. Ambassador to India Nancy Powell said that she joins "Secretary Kerry in expressing our regret for the circumstances of the consular officer's arrest, but we believe that we can look forward to continuing to expand our bilateral relations." The arrest of India's deputy consul general in New York, Devyani Khobragade, and her subsequent strip-search triggered a huge diplomatic row between New Delhi and Washington last month. India insists the U.S. must apologize for the arrest while Washington says that it will not drop charges against the woman diplomat who has been subsequently shifted to India's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, ensuring her full diplomatic immunity, something she didn't have as a consular official. As a retaliatory measure, India had withdrawn the extra privileges earlier extended to the American diplomats posted in this country, and even removed security barricades in front of the U.S. Embassy in the national capital. Even media reports a couple of days back said that Powell was forced to cancel her New Year trip to the neighboring country of Nepal as New Delhi "politely" refused her request of airport privileges, pending an apology over the arrest. The Indian diplomat, who is currently on bail, has denied the charges which carry a punishment of up to 15 years in jail.