INDIA: Hindu radicals protest outside the American embassy in New Delhi, demanding an apology from the US over the treatment of an Indian diplomat who was strip-searched after her arrest in New York last week

Record ID: 1377125

  • Title: INDIA: Hindu radicals protest outside the American embassy in New Delhi, demanding an apology from the US over the treatment of an Indian diplomat who was strip-searched after her arrest in New York last week
  • Date: 18th December 2013
  • Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (DECEMBER 18, 2013) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) SUPPORTERS OF RADICAL HINDU OUTFIT, RASHTRAWADI SHIV SENA, SHOUTING ANTI-U.S. SLOGANS PROTESTERS HOLDING FLAGS PROTESTERS SHOUTING SLOGANS A MAN HOLDING A POSTER, READING, 'IF USA WILL NOT RESPECT INDIANS THEN AMERICANS WILL NOT BE RESPECTED IN INDIA' PROTESTERS STANDING WITH FLAGS PROTESTERS WEARING MASKS OF AMERICAN PRESIDENT, BARRACK OBAMA, SHOUTING SLOGANS MAN USING AMERICAN NATIONAL FLAG AS SARONG VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS SHOUTING SLOGANS (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) LEADER OF RASHTRAYAWADI SHIV SHENA, SHRI BAGHWAN GOEL, SAYING: "Today we have submitted a memorandum to the American embassy demanding that the American president must apologise to our country and the lady for this embarrassment. If he fails to do so, we will continue our agitation." A PROTESTER HOLDING POSTER, READING, 'USA SHOULD APOLOGISE' (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) LAWMAKER FROM INDIA'S MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY AND FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER, YASHWANT SINHA, SAYING: "No country can accept that a diplomat is handcuffed first and then locked up in prison with other criminals and thereafter strip-searched. Infact, India should never accept this as it is a very great nation." EXTERIOR OF AMERICAN EMBASSY CROWD OF PROTESTERS OUTSIDE EMBASSY PROTESTERS SHOUTING SLOGANS PROTESTERS HOLDING PARTY BANNER VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS SHOUTING SLOGANS (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) A PROTESTER, SANDEEP SINGH, SAYING: "America has confused us with Pakistan. They are confused that they can carry on attacking us like they conduct drone-attacks in Pakistan." ANOTHER GROUP OF PROTESTERS OUTSIDE EMBASSY PROTESTERS INTERACTING WITH POLICEMEN
  • Embargoed: 2nd January 2014 19:31
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAERYUD3LRR0VRV6F719T4RSAY9
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Hindu radicals protested outside the American embassy in New Delhi on Wednesday (December 18), demanding an apology from the U.S. over the treatment of an Indian diplomat who was strip-searched after her arrest in New York last week.
    On Tuesday (December 17) Indian police removed concrete security barriers outside the U.S. embassy in New Delhi in an apparent retaliation for the treatment of the Indian diplomat.
    The diplomatic spat was triggered on the December 12 with the arrest of Devyani Khobragade, a deputy consul general at the Indian consulate in New York, on charges of visa fraud, making false statements and allegedly lying about how much she paid her housekeeper, an Indian national.
    Wearing masks of US President Barrack Obama, supporters of radical Hindu outfit, Rashtrayawadi Shiv Sena, shouted anti-US slogans against Washington for its treatment of the Indian diplomat.

    "Today we have submitted a memorandum to the American embassy demanding that the American president must apologise to our country and the lady for this embarrassment. If he fails to do so, we will continue our agitation," said leader of the outfit, Shri Baghwan Goel.
    With general elections due in less than six months, India's political parties appeared determined not to be labelled soft or unpatriotic.
    Narendra Modi, the prime ministerial candidate for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, and Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family that leads India's ruling Congress party, both declined to meet the U.S. delegation.
    Former foreign minister and lawmaker from main opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Yaswant Sinha, said that India shouldn't silently accept such a humiliation.
    "No country can accept that a diplomat is handcuffed first and then locked up in prison with other criminals and thereafter strip-searched. Infact, India should never accept this as it is a very great nation," he said.
    Earlier in the day, spokesperson for the Indian foreign ministry, Syed Akbaruddin, said India was committed to follow the rules laid down by the Vienna Convention and expected the same from other countries.
    Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, consular officials enjoy immunity from arrest only for crimes committed in connection with their work.
    Meanwhile, two other groups also demonstrated outside the U.S. embassy in New Delhi as the anger against Washington grew in India.
    A protester from one of the groups, Sandeep Singh, said that America must not take India for granted as neighbouring Pakistan.
    "America has confused us with Pakistan. They are confused that they can carry on attacking us like they conduct drone-attacks in Pakistan," Singh said.
    The U.S. Marshals Service, part of the justice department, confirmed on Tuesday that Khobragade had been strip-searched.
    In a statement, the marshals service said it took custody of Khobragade after her arrest by the state department's bureau of diplomatic security. It confirmed she was strip-searched, saying it followed "standard arrestee intake procedures."
    As the dispute over the diplomat's treatment grew, Indian politicians, including the leaders of the two main political parties and the national security adviser, refused to meet with a delegation of U.S. lawmakers visiting India this week.
    Khobragade, who was released on $250,000 bail after giving up her passport and pleading not guilty to the charges, faces a maximum of 15 years in jail if convicted on both counts.
    India has become a close trade and security partner of the United States over the past decade, but the two countries have not totally overcome a history marked by distrust.
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