India asks U.S. to withdraw official

The Indian government has asked the United States to withdraw an official from its embassy in New Delhi, an
Indian official not authorized to speak to the media told CNN on Friday.

The decision comes as Devyani Khobragade, the Indian diplomat whose December arrest and strip search in New York strained ties between New Delhi and Washington,
headed back to India.

"We have asked the U.S. Embassy to withdraw an officer of her rank," the Indian official said.

Khobragade's return to India from the U.S. could calm tensions between the nations. U.S. prosecutors accuse her
of lying in a visa application about how much she paid her housekeeper.

She was indicted this week by a federal grand jury on one count of visa fraud and one count of making
false statements.

The Indian government denied a request by the State Department to waive Khobragade's diplomatic immunity so she can answer the charges, U.S. and Indian officials said.
The immunity was granted after her controversial arrest.

Khobragade arrived at the New Delhi airport Friday, according to an Indian official who is not authorized to
speak to the media. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said earlier in the day that she had left the United States.

Khobragade told CNN, through an intermediary, that the charges against her "are false and baseless."

"I look forward to demonstrating that to all of you," she said through the intermediary.

Khobragade "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 United States,"the ministry said.
New Delhi is demanding that Washington apologize and drop charges accusing the diplomat of lying on a visa application for her former housekeeper.
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