New York: Deputy Consul General of India in U.S. Devyani Khobragade was arrested and handcuffed in public in New York on Thursday for allegedly lying on the visa application for an Indian national who worked for her for less than four dollars an hour. The minimum wage per hour is $ 9.75 and the domestic helper was said to be paid much less than the minimum wage in U.S.A
Ms Khobragade, was arrested on the street while she was dropping her daughter to school. She was later released on a $250,000 bail. Local media reported.
She was arrested on the orders of Indian-born Preet Bharara, Manhattan's top federal prosecutor, who said Ms Khobragade had presented false documents for the woman who worked as a babysitter and housekeeper at her home in New York from November to June this year.
He alleged the woman, Sangeeta Richard, had been exploited and made to work for less than minimum wages.Ms Khobragade, is in charge of Political, Economic, Commercial and Women's Affairs at the consulate. The charges against her carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
There is strict minimum wage rules in developed countries which can not be ignored by the employers. Often domestic helps are recruited t from India but they are paid less than the minimum wage.
Indian Embassy in Washington has issued a press release regarding this:
“We were informed that Deputy Consul General of India in New York, Dr. Devyani Khobragade, was taken into custody by law enforcement authorities in New York in the morning of December 12, 2013 while she was dropping her daughter at school. Dr. Khobragade was later released that same evening.
Action was apparently taken against Dr Khobragade on the basis of allegations raised by the officer's former India-based domestic assistant, Ms Sangeeta Richard, who has been absconding since June this year. In this context the Delhi High Court had issued an-interim injunction in September to restrain Ms Richard from instituting any actions or proceedings against Dr Khobragade outside India on the terms or conditions of her employment.
The US Government had subsequently been requested to locate Ms Richard and facilitate the service of an arrest warrant, issued by the Metropolitan Magistrate of the South District Court in New Delhi under Sections 387, 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code.
The Embassy of India in Washington DC had immediately conveyed its strong concern to the U.S. Government over the action taken against Dr Khobragade. The US side have been urged to resolve the matter with due sensitivity, taking into account the existing Court case in India that has already been brought to their attention by the Government of India, and the Diplomatic status of the officer concerned.”
Sangeeta Richard has alleged that she was to be paid $ 4,500 per month according to the employment contract furnished for her visa, but Ms Khobragade later changed it to $ 537 a month. She also complained that she was forced to work more than 40 hours a week.
Ms Khobragade's lawyers argue that with her own salary of $ 4,000 a month, she can hardly pay her help more than that. They also said her arrest on the street, without being given a chance to explain, was "shocking and unprecedented."
