New York — An Indian diplomat by the name of Devyani Khobragade, who has caused tension between the U.S. and India was denied a request by a U.S. judge to delay her case.
Khobragade, who was Deputy Consul-General in New York, was arrested on December 12, 2013, and charged with committing visa fraud by filing false documents to obtain a work visa. She is also charged with defrauding the IRS by paying her full time maid slave wages, and then lying about it. Khobragade had filed documents claiming she was paying her maid $4,500 a month, when she was actually paying her $573 a month.
Her arrest has infuriated India as a whole, and the government in India says all charges should be dropped. India officials do not feel as though Khobragade should be held accountable for laws broken in the United States, they are now requesting Khobragade be moved to the United Nations and want her to be given diplomatic immunity.
The India government says Khobragade should have never been strip searched by another female and placed in a jail with the general population, which they referred to as United States scum. India has made reference to retaliation against the U.S.
In an order issued on Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge, Sarah Netburn, in Manhattan, refused to extend the January 13, 2014, deadline by which a preliminary hearing must be held or an indictment filed in the case.
Khobragade’s attorney, Daniel Arshack, told the judge that not delaying her case would be interfering with negotiations with the government. Judge Netburn told Arshack he had only wanted to delay the case in an attempt to delay the indictment.
Arshack says he will explore “other options.”
After Khobragade was arrested she was released on $250,000 bail.