New Delhi, Dec 20 – US diplomats and their families will no longer receive special treatment at Indian airports as part of the government’s retaliation against the alleged ill treatment of India’s deputy consul general in New York Devyani Khobragade, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
Khobragade, 39, was handcuffed and taken into custody by police over visa fraud charges last week on a street New York while dropping off her daughter at school.
She was later released on US$250,000 bond after pleading not guilty in court.
On Tuesday, India announced a series of measures to strip US diplomats and their families of privileges, including withdrawing all airport passes and stopping import clearances including for liquor for the US embassy.
Security barricades near the US embassy on Nyaya Marg have also been removed.
US consular diplomats and their families were ordered to surrender their airport passes by Wednesday night.
Khobragade claimed she was put through strip and cavity searches by US police — procedures usually reserved for criminals.
She was transferred to India’s Permanent Mission to United Nations on Wednesday to give her fuller diplomatic immunity.
– Bernama
