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Indian diplomat whose arrest and strip-search in NYC drew protests is indicted again
The Indian diplomat whose arrest sparked a diplomatic row with India has again been indicted
by the federal government and faces arrest if she returns to the United States, federal
prosecutors said Friday. Devyani Khobragade faces one count of visa
fraud and one count of making false statements for allegedly lying on a visa application
about how much she paid her housekeeper, according to the indictment filed in a Manhattan federal
court Friday. An arrest warrant also was issued, said Jerika
Richardson, spokeswoman for the United States attorney's office for the Southern District
of New York. The fresh indictment comes just days after
the original indictment against Khobragade was dismissed by a federal judge who agreed
with her lawyers' assertion that she was protected under diplomatic immunity at the time of the
first indictment. Federal prosecutors signaled Monday that a
new indictment was likely. Khobragade, who left the United States in
January, now works for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi.
Her attorney, Daniel Arshack, declined comment Friday. "The government of India will respond
in due course," he said in a statement. She was originally arrested and strip-searched
by federal agents in New York City in December 2013. On January 9, a federal grand jury indicted
her on one count of visa fraud and one count of making false statements, the same charges
she now faces.