India-born US prosecutor opposes indictment deadline extension
New Delhi,NEW YORK: India has made it clear to the US that it cannot be “business as usual” between the two sides till the Devyani Khobragade issue is resolved.
This was conveyed by Vikram Doraiswami, Joint Secretary (Americas), to US Ambassador Nancy Powell when she met him at South Block here.
Doraiswami firmly put across to the US envoy that “it is your process and you have to sort it out”, sources said.
New Delhi’s assertion assumes significance in the context of the January 13 deadline for the indictment in New York of senior diplomat Khobragade on visa fraud charges.
The US said last month it is proceeding with the prosecution of Khobragade and has no intention of withdrawing the case of visa fraud against her.
India has been demanding the withdrawal of the case against her and an apology from the US for the treatment meted out to the 39-year-old diplomat, including a strip search and detention with criminals after her arrest on December 12.
The incident led to strong protests by the Indian government and widespread indignation in India. At the time of her arrest, Khobragade was the Deputy Consul General in New York. She was subsequently transferred to India’s Permanent Mission to the UN.
A 1999-batch IFS officer, Khobragade was arrested on charges of making false declarations in a visa application for her maid Sangeeta Richard. She was released on a USD 250,000 bond.
Meanwhile, India-born US prosecutor Preet Bharara has told a judge that his office is opposed to the one-month extension of the deadline for charging Devyani Khobragade in a visa fraud case as sought by her, saying plea discussions can continue even after she is charged.
Khobragade’s lawyer Daniel Arshack has submitted a request with magistrate judge Sarah Netburn of the US district court for the southern district of New York seeking postponement of the preliminary hearing date, currently scheduled for January 13 and extension of the indictment deadline by 30 days “to and including February 12, 2014”.
Responding to Arshack’s request, Bharara wrote to the judge that the government is not seeking an extension of the deadline for indictment.
He said the one-month adjournment of the January 13 preliminary hearing date has been sought in order to facilitate the plea discussions that have been ongoing between his office and Khobragade.
“This office remains receptive to continuing the plea discussions that have taken place over the past several weeks. We have participated in hours of discussion in the hope of negotiating a plea that could be entered in court before January 13,” Bharara said.
“Indeed, as recently as Saturday, January 5, the government outlined reasonable parameters for a plea that could resolve the case, to which the defendant has not responded,” he said.
Bharara pointed out that the plea discussions to resolve the issue can continue even after the indictment has been filed.
He said while his office remains open to continuing the plea discussions as the case proceeds, “the discussions are simply not at a stage that merits a continuance of the preliminary hearing.” (PTI)