Protesters in India, still angry about last week's arrest and subsequent strip-search of deputy consul Devyani Khobragade for visa fraud and underpayment of her housekeeper in New York, raided a Domino's Pizza in a Mumbai suburb on Friday, Reuters reported. The demonstrators have also demanded a ban on U.S. goods.
Indian officials have demanded all charges dropped against Khobragade.
Khobragade was arrested last week and released on $250,000 "after giving up her passport and pleading not guilty to charges of visa fraud and making false statements about how much she paid her housekeeper. She faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted on both counts," Reuters also reported.
"The fact is that the American authorities have behaved atrociously with an Indian diplomat. And obviously, America has to make good for its actions. So therefore, I think it is a legitimate expectation, that if they have erred, and they have erred grievously in this matter, they should come forth and apologize," said Manish Tiwari, minister for information and broadcasting.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed regret over the case in a phone call to India's national security adviser this week. U.S. prosecutors , however defended the investigation against Khobragade. The State Department also said that Khobragade did not have full diplomatic immunity.
In addition to the ransacking of the Domino's pizza outlet, protesters gathered at the U.S. consulate for a second day on Friday, "furious that one of its foreign service officers had been handcuffed and treated like 'a common criminal," as reported by BBC News.
"One wonders why there is so much outrage about the alleged treatmentS of the Indian national accused of perpetrating these acts, but precious little outrage about the alleged treatment of the Indian victim and her spouse," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement on Wednesday.
