New Delhi - KUNA
An Indian diplomat in the US, named Dr. Devyani Khobragade, was accorded diplomatic immunity after she was indicted for visa fraud and making false statements, government sources here said Friday.However, US Attorney Preet Bharara had stated that the charges against 39-year-old Khobragade have not been dropped and she has to face trial in the US, if she returns without diplomatic immunity. Khorbragade, an envoy and "Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in New York, was accorded the privileges and immunities of a diplomatic envoy under the terms of section 15 of the Headquarters Agreement between the United Nations and the United States," The Indian foreign ministry stated Friday."At the same time, the U.S. government requested the government of India (GOI) to waive the immunity of Counsellor Khobragade. On 9th January 2014, the GOI declined to do so and transferred Counsellor Khobragade to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi," said the ministry. The Indian diplomat left the US for India on Jan 9, said sources.Deputy Consul General at the Indian Consulate in New York, Devyani Khobragade, was arrested and handcuffed in public in New York for allegedly filing wrong documents for Visa of an Indian national who worked for her.