The arrest and alleged strip-search of Devyani Khobragade, deputy consul general at the Indian consulate in New York, for falsifying documents and visa fraud in regards to her nanny has brought up many questions of mistreatment of the official, but what about the nanny?
Sangeeta Richard, the nanny in question, has been charged in an Indian court for extortion and conspiracy causing the government to be called out for "flag raising theatrics," according to The Indian Express.
Some activist are currently blaming the Indian government on their lack of proper handling of issues related to domestic help for their government officials, according to Rediff.com.
The case which has been unfolding since November of 2012, could now turn into a fiasco and diplomatic face-off between the United States and India, according to Rediff.com
Richard arrived in the United States in November 2012 and began working for Khobragade on Nov. 23, but in March problems began to arise when Richard asked Khobragade if she could work out of the home on her days off, according to Rediff.
According to a lawsuit against Richard in the Delhi high court, Khobragade told Richard working elsewhere would be illegal according to her visa status, and because of the type of passport Richard had, which is called an official passport, Rediff.com explained.
In June of this year, Richard left the diplomat's home to buy groceries and did not return, leading Khobragade to inform the consulate general who informed authorities.
Later in the summer in July, Richard went to see an immigration attorney in Manhattan. The attorney told Rediff shortly after Richard's arrival, four officials from the consulate arrived.
Official reports show Richard demanded the sum of her wages which she was not fully receiving and an ordinary Indian passport, Rediff.com reported.
Back in India, her husband and child were taken into custody and Richard spoke to them while inside the attorney's office, stating afterwards she would not leave the premises while the consulate officials waited outside. Later in the day, police arrived and escorted Richard away, according to Rediff.com.
That same day, Richard official passport was revoked by the Indian government making her status in the country illegal while the Indian embassy in Washington, D.C., asked the State Department to find Richard and deport her back to India, Reddiff.com reported.
Most recently in September, a court order was issued by the Delhi high court stating Richard could not take any action against Khobragade outside India because of the terms of conditions of her employment, according to a statement issued by the Indian embassy, Rediff.com reported.
The order issued on Sept. 20 by Justice Jayant Nath said any issues Richard has with her terms of employment, salary or ill-treatment can only be addressed by an Indian court because both Richard and Khobragade work for the Indian Government, according to Rediff.com.
The same court issued a notice to Richard's husband Philip in Delhi which is scheduled for February, Reddiff.com reported.
Richard cannot currently go home because of an arrest warrant against her issued by the same high court in Delhi, accusing her of extortion, cheating and conspiracy, Reddiff.com reported.
Though the charges in the Indian high court against Richard seem questionable given the report released by the U.S. Department of Justice, the reason for Khobragade's arrest are extremely valid.
The charge against Khobragade is visa fraud, and as a diplomat for India, she should have been well aware of the legalities of misrepresenting information, or producing false information, in regards to her household staff, according to the Indian Express.
The fact she was arrested and allegedly stip-searched, though her attorney has not confirmed this allegation, for visa fraud, is not exceptionable, unless "self-claimed immunities and privileges of India's elite foreign service" are at stake, according to the Indian Express.
According to the Indian Express, Indian officials and diplomats have a bad habit of feeling they should be exempt from things such as a routine pat-down at an airport or, in this case, allegations of visa fraud.
This habit of Indian diplomats thinking they are above the law in whatever "hostile" country they are in, come from an older era and an erroneous and feudal court system, according to the Indian Express.
Through tradition and a law which was put in place to "shield a diplomat from coercive means by the host aimed at impeding her residence and conduct of duties in another, and possibly hostile, country," and it is this same law that is currently being used in India's outcry against the recent arrest of Khobragade, the Indian Express reported.
There has been other similar cases where Indian diplomats have been charged with barbaric treatment and underpaying house workers with a growing call for better protection of domestic workers from abuse and exploitation.
Due to the bad history India diplomats have in dealing similar issues, it is shocking how quick the Indian government has jumped to theatrics and are shadowing the real issue with the alleged unjust treatment of the diplomat who is actually at fault, Slate reported.
