Indian Diplomat Is Indicted, Again

The Indian diplomat whose arrest in New York City ignited a diplomatic row was re-indicted Friday, two days after a judge dismissed the case citing diplomatic immunity.

A New York grand jury indicted Devyani Khobragade Friday on charges of underpaying her housekeeper and falsifying a visa application for her, AFP reports.

Police arrested Devyani Khobragade Dec. 12 outside her daughter’s school and strip-searched her, drawing outrage from the Indian public and government.

India changed Khobragade’s official position to expand her diplomatic immunity after her arrest – before the indictment — and the judge Wednesday ruled that, as a result, the indictment had to be thrown out. But the judge also left open the possibility for a new indictment, in part because Khobragade lost immunity when she returned to India, where she is currently working.

The office of Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York, said after that ruling that it intended to re-charge her, AFP reports.

“As the court indicted in this decision, and as Devyani Khobragade has conceded, there is currently no bar to a new indictment against her for her alleged criminal conduct, and we intend to proceed accordingly,” a spokesperson said.

[AFP]