New Delhi: Reiterating his stand that her daughter and Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade has been framed on false charges, Uttam Khobragade said that the crisis revolving around his daughter had been created by the United States of America.
His statements come at a time when Devyani has left for India from the US after being indicted on two counts of visa fraud and making false statements. She was also granted full diplomatic immunity and was allowed to return to India.
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Speaking to the press on the developments in the case, Uttam Khobragade said that his daughter was fighting to uphold the sovereignty of the country and is coming back with full diplomatic immunity. "Devyani gave importance to the sovereignty and Indian judicial system over her personal interest," he said.
He also thanked the government, people and the media for their support in the case. "My daughter could not have come back without the support of government, media and people of the country. I would like to thank everyone for standing by us like a rock," he said.
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Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade has been indicted on two counts of visa fraud and making false statements, and was allowed to leave the United States of America as she had been accorded full diplomatic immunity.
In a letter to District Judge Shira Scheindlin, US Attorney Preet Bharara had said that the charges against Khobragade will remain and she will have to face trial, if she returns to the US without diplomatic immunity.
"There will not need to be an arrangement on the indictment scheduled at this time. We understand that the defendant was very recently accorded diplomatic immunity status," Bharara said in his letter.
"Therefore, the charges will remain pending until such time as she can be brought to court to face the charges, either through a waiver of immunity or the defendant's return to the United States in a non-immune status. The time between now and the time that she is able to be brought before the court is excluded automatically under the Speedy Trial Act, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 3161(h)(3)(A), which provides for the exclusion of any period of delay resulting from the unavailability of the defendant," he said.
Bharara made it clear that Khobragade will be prosecuted if she returns to the US without diplomatic immunity. "We will alert the court promptly if we learn that the defendant returns to the United States in a non-immune capacity, at which time the government will proceed to prosecute this case and prove the charges in the indictment," he added.
Meanwhile, India has refused the request to waive Khobragade's diplomatic immunity after the US accepted her request for UN accreditation, sources said. "We were asked to waive her diplomatic immunity but we have refused. She has departed for India," MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.
A 1999-batch IFS officer, Khobragade, was arrested on December 12, 2013 on charges of making false declarations in a visa application for her maid. She was released on a $250,000 bond.
The diplomat was strip searched and held with criminals, triggering a row between the two sides with India retaliating by downgrading privileges of certain category of US diplomats.
After the row broke out, Khobragade was transferred to India's Permanent Mission to the UN. Following her arrest, her passport was kept in court's custody.
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