Donald Trump tried to call Indian-born attorney Preet Bharara before firing him

Indian-born US attorney Preet Bharara who was fired by the Trump administration on March 11 had received a call from the US President Donald Trump just two days before his exit. However, Bharara rebuffed Trump's phone call who had tried to call him in an effort to thank him for his service and to wish him good luck.

Bharara was fired by the Trump administration after he refused to quit following orders to the 46 Obama administration-appointed attorneys to resign immediately.

"I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honour of my professional life," Bharara tweeted from his personal Twitter account.

Bharara, 48, one of the most high-profile federal prosecutors in the US known for crusading against public corruption, had been asked by the acting deputy attorney general to immediately submit resignations.

Earlier, sources close to Bharara had said that the Manhattan federal prosecutor had refused to submit his resignation, in effect preparing for a show down with President Donald Trump.

The order by acting deputy attorney general Dana Boente asking the 46 remaining federal attorneys to resign was met with shock by Bhararas office since Trump had last year in November asked him to stay on in his administration.

Bharara had met Trump in the Trump Towers in Manhattan shortly after the Republican nominee had won the presidential elections. Talking to reporters following his meeting with Trump, Bharara had said he was asked by Trump to remain in his current post at the meeting and had agreed to do so.

Bharara has made a national and international mark for himself with many high-profile cases and investigations including foreign countries, insider trading and those involving US politicians. It was under his prosecution that India-born former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta was convicted for insider trading in 2012.

Bharara has served 7 years as the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, a jurisdiction that includes Trump Tower.

OneIndia News (with PTI inputs)