Tit for tat: India expels US diplomat involved in Khobragade case

January 10, 2014

New Delhi, Jan 10: India Friday expelled an American diplomat involved in the case of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade after she was told to fly home following her indictment by a US grand jury.

Official sources said the US embassy was "asked to withdraw forthwith a US diplomat of similar rank as Khobragade".

embassy

"We have reason to believe that the officer was closely involved in the processes related to the (Khobragade case) and the subsequent unilateral action by the US side," a source said.

The US embassy could not be immediately reached for comments. The name of the expelled American diplomat was not known.

Khobragade, arrested and strip-searched for alleged visa fraud last month, was asked to leave the US after being formally indicted by a US grand jury Thursday.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin earlier said that Khobragade had been given a G1 visa with full diplomatic immunity, and was on her way back to India.

Khobragade's handcuffing and strip-search Dec 12 for alleged visa fraud and for allegedly underpaying her child's nanny caused a major row between New Delhi and Washington.

At the time of her arrest, Devyani, 39, was India's deputy consul general in New York.

Prosecutors said that after Khobragade was granted immunity, US officials told her to leave the country.

In a statement after the grand jury hearing, her lawyer Daniel Arshack said Khobragade "is pleased to be returning to her country.

"Her head is held high. She knows she has done no wrong and she looks forward to assuring that the truth is known".

Her father Uttam Khobragade thanked the Indian government for his daughter's return.

"It is only because of the entire Indian government's effort, my daughter is returning to India with full diplomatic immunity," he said.

The external affairs ministry said Khobragade was accorded Jan 8 the privileges and immunities of a diplomatic envoy.

"At the same time, the US government requested the government of India to waive (her) immunity.

"On Jan 9, India declined to do so and transferred Khobragade to the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi."

Khobragade reiterated her innocence. "She also affirmed her determination to ensure that the episode would not leave a lasting impact on her family, in particular, her children, who are still in the US," an official statement said.

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Agencies
May 25,2020

Lucknow, May 25: Migrant workers who wish to return to their places of work after the lockdown is lifted, may no longer find the going easy now.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that his government will lay down stringent conditions for ensuring social security of workers from the state who are hired by other states.

"Other states will also need to seek permission from his government before engaging workers from UP," he said while addressing a webinar on Sunday.

The Chief Minister stated, "If any state wants manpower, the state government will have to guarantee social security and insurance of the workers. Without our permission they will not be able to take our people," he said.

He said all migrant workers who have returned to the state were being registered and their skills were being mapped by the administration. Any state or entity interested in hiring them will need to take care of their social, legal and monetary rights.

Speaking about the challenges his administration had faced during this crisis, the Chief Minister said, "When I talk of Uttar Pradesh, then it is natural to say that it is the state with the highest population. We have faced several challenges during the lockdown. At the beginning, migrant workers and labourers started coming to the state. We deployed 16,000 buses and within 24 hours, they were brought back to their home districts and arrangements were made to screen them."

Yogi Adityanath took a dig at the opposition leaders for the migrant crisis. "During the lockdown, if those who now raise slogans for the poor had honestly cared about workers, then migration could have been stopped. This did not happen. No facilities were given. At several places, electricity connections were cut, so people had to migrate." he said.

Legal experts, meanwhile said that requiring government permission for employing people could face a legal challenge as the Constitution guarantees the freedom of movement and residence and employment of workers.

"Article 19 (1)(D) guarantees freedom to move freely, and 19(1)(e) the freedom to settled in any part of the countryso the need for permission can be legally challenged," said a senior lawyer.

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Agencies
January 25,2020

Patna, Jan 25: JD Women's College in Patna has issued a direction to the students to follow the prescribed dress code on the campus while stating that wearing a 'burqa' in college is prohibited.

"All students have to come to college in the prescribed dress code, every day except on Saturday. Students are prohibited from wearing 'burqa' in college", reads a notice signed by the Principal and Proctor of the college.

The college administration has also imposed a fine of Rs. 250 for violation of the norm.

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Abdullah
 - 
Sunday, 26 Jan 2020

I think this college management will allow girl students to wear tight jeans + t-shair and miniskirts but is not allowing a girl to cover her body.    Are we in ancient days where humans had no dress to cover themselves or in the time of Nair kings in kerala who restricted ladies of low caste from covering their chest.     

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News Network
August 8,2020

Kozhikode, Aug 8: A family of five, returning to their hometown at Koducalli in Kozhikode from Dubai, were aboard the fateful Air India Express flight that crash-landed at the Kozhikode airport claiming at least 18 lives on Friday.

Saifudheen, 40, is a businessman in Dubai. During the vacation when schools were closed here, his wife Fasalunnisa travelled, along with their children Muhammad Shahil, Fathima Sana and Aysha Shanza, to meet her husband.

On Friday, they were all travelling in the Air India aircraft to Kozhikode.

All five have received injuries and have been admitted to Baby Memorial Hospital Kozhikode except Sana, who is admitted to Al Shifa Hospital at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram.

"Saifudheen is my uncle. He and his family members were returning from Dubai when this unfortunate incident occurred. We were informed about the mishap at 8 pm. Now the family members have been shifted to Baby Memorial Hospital and everyone is fine now," Muhammad Salih, nephew of Saifudheen said.

The death toll in the flight crash landing incident at Kozhikode International Airport in Kerala rose to 18, including two pilots, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Saturday.

The minister said that he will visit the Kozhikode airport to take stock of the situation.

Two special relief flights have been arranged from Delhi and one from Mumbai for rendering humanitarian assistance to all the passengers and the family members.

Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Flight Safety Departments have reached to investigate the incident, the Air India Express stated.

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