The External Affairs Ministry has reinstated IFS officer Devyani Khobragade in service and posted her to the newly created ‘States division’.
While serving as Deputy Consul-General in New York, Ms. Khobragade was arrested in 2013 by U.S. law enforcement agencies for making “false claims” on a visa application for her household help. Back in India, the Ministry put her on “compulsory wait”.
On Thursday, sources told The Hindu that Ms. Khobragade met officials in the Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar to seek her reinstatement. The Foreign Secretary, who is learnt to have posted her in the new division, was instrumental in negotiating her release from the U.S., where she faced trial, and facilitated her return to India.
Even in her new role, the government is reluctant to let her travel abroad since she can be prosecuted for her pending case in the U.S. Washington has extradition treaties with 110 countries. Even those with which it has diplomatic relations can initiate prosecution.
Sources said the Ministry had taken her off her “compulsory wait” a few months. Asked about the internal inquiries against her on the passport issue and the media interviews, Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said both cases were now sub judice .
