Weekend Economists Mark D Day, 2014 June 6-8, 2014

[Demeter]

42. Preet and the Devyani Khobragade incident

Preet Bharara and his office came to the limelight again with the arrest of Devyani Khobragade, the Deputy Consul General of India in New York. The prosecution accused her of making false statements in the visa application of an Indian national who was employed as the housekeeper at her home in New York.

The incident turned into a diplomatic standoff between India and United States as Khobragade was strip searched and kept in custody with drug peddlers. The US Marshal Service acknowledged this as well.

India took serious action to protest against the alleged mistreatment of its diplomat: ID cards of U.S. consular personnel and their families were revoked, airport passes rescinded and embassy imports of liquor and other goods were frozen. Even the security barriers in front of the US embassy were removed as retaliation.

Mr. Bharara and his office were accused of racial discrimination by media. He has been accused of targeting people of Indian origin. The United States Government justified and supported his office and refuted the charges of racial discrimination. A State Department spokesperson stated that only standard procedures are undertaken in the arrest and the US Attorney's office was following procedure.

US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed regret over the incident during his conversation with Indian National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Meno. US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell also expressed her regret for the circumstances surrounding the consular officer's arrest.

The United States maintains that Ms. Khobragade did not have diplomatic immunity from prosecution in United States courts. Bharara told the media that "There has been much misinformation and factual inaccuracy in the reporting on the charges against Devyani Khobragade, it is important to correct these inaccuracies because they are misleading people and creating an inflammatory atmosphere on an unfounded basis."

Speaking at Harvard Law School during its 2014 Class Day ceremony, Preet Bharara said that it was the US Department of State who initiated and investigated proceedings against the Indian official : “(It was) not the crime of the century but a serious crime nonetheless, that is why the State Department opened the case, that is why the State Department investigated it. That is why career agents in the State Department asked career prosecutors in my office to approve criminal charges.”