New York: Indian Consul General in New York
Prabhu Dayal, accused of treating a former domestic help as a
slave and making sexual advances, has sought her removal from
the country on the grounds that she no longer has a legitimate
visa to be here.
"I formally request that removal proceedings be commenced
against Santosh Bharadwaj," Ravi Batra, his lawyer, wrote in a
letter to Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security and
Eric M Holder, Attorney General of the United States.
"As Ms Bhardwaj voluntarily abandoned the employ of the
Consul General and the Consulate on January 28, 2010 she is
within our borders in violation of her non-immigrant status
and conditions of entry into the US," the letter said.
Bhardwaj, 45, accuses Dayal of making her work for long
hours every day at USD 300 a month, confiscating her passport
and making her sleep in a storage closet.
Dayal, who has described these charges as "complete
nonsense," said that Bhardwaj ran away because he did not
allow her to work outside the consulate to make some extra
money as it was against her visa rules.
Dayal has said that he never asked Bhardwaj for a
massage, which she interpreted as a sexual advance.
He said that she left very comfortably in her own
furnished room in the consulate and was paid according to the
rules.
The Indian government is backing Dayal. Legal Aid
Society, which is representing Bhardwaj, said that Dayal does
not have diplomatic immunity since the subject matter of the
case is all private.
PTI
