Indian Diplomat Devyani Khobragade Leaves U.S. After Indictment On Fraud Charges

Nearly a month after being arrested on charges of visa fraud, Indian Diplomat Devyani Khobragade has left the U.S. The diplomat's departure was confirmed by Indian government officials and her family, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Khobragade, 39, left the U.S. Thursday night and will land in New Delhi, India, a spokesman for India's Ministry of External Affairs told The Wall Street Journal. Uttam Khobragade, the diplomat's father, said she's expected to land Friday evening.

Khobragade, deputy consul general to the U.S., left the country after federal prosecutors asked her to leave because India would not waive her immunity and allow her to be prosecuted. A U.S. official told The Wall Street Journal it's procedure to ask the accused to leave when an immunity wavier is denied.

The Manhattan-based diplomat was arrested in early December 2013 for allegedly forging visa application documents for her housemaid, Sangeeta Richard. Khobragade is also accused of paying Richards $3.31 an hour after promising to pay her close to $10 an hour.

"Dr. Khobragade denies the baseless charges brought by the prosecutor's office in New York," Dan Arshack, one of the diplomat's lawyers, told The Wall Street Journal.

Khobragade, who is known as a strong supporter of women's rights, "looks forward to providing the proof that over and over the investigators and prosecutors in this case have been sloppy and wrong," Arshack said.

A federal indictment was filed after a grand jury decided the evidence against Khobragade is sufficient for a trial, The Wall Street Journal reported. The jury moved to charge the diplomat with two counts of visa fraud and making false documents.

The indictment increased an already tense relationship between India and the U.S. India has long demanded the charges against Khobragade be dismissed and that she is shielded from prosecution because of her diplomatic immunity. U.S. officials said Khobragade has been granted "diplomatic immunity status," but it is not certain if that will prevent her from being tried, The Wall Street Journal reported.