A day after Indian Diplomats daughter sued New York

New York, May 26: Diplomatic immunity cannot be applied to family members, said US State Department, a day after

after being falsely arrested on the grounds that she sent obscene emails to her teachers.

"The Vienna Convention on Consular Affairs provides that consular officers are not liable to arrest or detention pending trial, except in the case of a felony where a court warrant is required. But that provision does not apply to family members," said Mark Toner, the State Departments spokesman in Washington on Wednesday, May 25.

"Family members do carry diplomatic passports but diplomatic immunity does not apply to them," he added.

"This is different for consular officers versus those in the embassy. There are different categories," Toner said.

Krittika Biswas, the daughter of Debashish Biswas, the vice counsel at the Indian Consulate in Manhattan, said that she was ill-treated in prison.

"Eventually, I had to go in front of everyone," said Biswas adding that she had to use a small toilet that was in the cell occupied by other persons.

Her legal lawyer said that keeping her arrested for more than 24-hours was violation of federal law, international law, state and city law.

Batra said that neither her father nor the Consulate General of India, Prabhu Dayal, were informed about Kritikaa's arrest.

"That did not cut any ice," he said. It was later found out by the school authorities that the mails were not sent by her but someone else.

OneIndia News