(Thanks to SI Blog’s U.S. Reader aaa001)
NYC Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, in the eye of a diplomatic storm between India and the U.S. over her alleged Visa Fraud crimes, won two lotteries early in life:
1. Birth as a Scheduled Caste a.k.a. Dalit, a cornucopia that keeps on giving till death in modern India.
2. Birth to an IAS officer (Uttam Khobragade), a priceless advantage in India.
These two lottery wins ensured that Devyani enjoyed access to India’s precious scarce resources, far more easily and at far lesser cost compared to 99% of Indians.
The spoils from Devyani’s two lottery wins included:
Admission into a prestigious medical school, entry into the coveted Indian Foreign Service, illegal allotment of an apartment in Mumbai meant for military personnel, a plum posting in New York City, high social status and above all, a life of privilege from birth until her recent arrest and strip search.
But did this child of privilege, Devyani Khobragade, do right by her less privileged countrymen like her maid?
Millionaire Devyani – Slave Wage Payer?
Many of Devyani Khobragade’s supporters and even some of SearchIndia.com Blog readers have wondered how she could pay her maid Sangeeta Richard a salary of $4,500 per month when she herself was getting a mere $4,000 a month.
But Devyani Khobragade was not a poor woman tirelessly serving her nation on a modest salary.
Thanks to the two lotteries she won, Devyani is an extremely wealthy woman, a millionaire many times over.
Her assets are beyond what the majority of hard-working Indians can only dream about!
She owns both agricultural and non-agricultural land in multiple states – Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala.
Devyani has an apartment in Mumbai, one of the most expensive places in the world, at the Adarsh Housing Society (the scandal tainted building where ineligible and highly connected people like Devyani were allotted apartments).
Media reports suggest she sold another apartment in Mumbai flat for Rs 1.9 crore (Source: Times of India).
Take a deko below at Devyani’s immovable assets but keep in mind that in India assets are often grossly undervalued:
Devyani Khobragade’s Assets Reported to Government of India
Also the asset list above is a bit dated and does not list stuff like bank accounts, stocks and jewelry (as we all know, Indians have an obsession for gold jewelry unmatched by any other nationality).
Bottom line – Devyani Khobragade is a fabulously wealthy person compared to the majority of Indians.
Millions in Assets but $3.31 for the Maid?
If the criminal complaint against Devyani Khobragade is true, the millionaire was paying a slave wage of just $3.31 per hour to her maid Sangeeta Richard despite promising the U.S. Embassy in Delhi that she would pay $4,500 a month, or at least $9.50 per hour.
Neither Devyani nor her vociferous supporters in India have so far refused to address two fundamental questions:
Was this millionaire diplomat paying a slave wage to her maid and did she lie to the U.S. Embassy about the slave wage she intended to pay her maid Sangeeta?
What are they hiding?
Indians and Americans deserve a straightforward answer now, from Devyani herself and her hypocritical government supporters who have smeared the maid.
If Devyani Khobragade is found guilty, the U.S. must seriously consider compelling the diplomat to forfeit some of her assets as a cautionary lesson to others tempted to engage in similar bad behavior.
Related Devyani Stories:
Indians are Chutiyas – Preet Bharara
Sangeeta Richard – Gutsy Indian Maid
What Likely Happened During Devyani’s Strip Search?
Sexy Indian Diplomat Devyani Khobragade Arrested in NYC for Alleged Visa Fraud
Who the Heck is Devyani Khobragade?
Will Devyani’s Arrest Trigger a Diplomatic Row Between India & America?
Legal Complaint Against Devyani Khobragade
NYC Indian Consulate Has a Maid in India Problem
Multi-Millionaire Devyani – Slave Wage Payer? added by SearchIndia.com on
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OMG, If she returns to India, she will surely become a successful Politician.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
I don’t know if she’ll become a successful politician in India.
But she’s already infamous in India as the Millionaire who was Compelled to Expose her Private Parts to Americans.
Well, that’s obviously a first for an Indian bureaucrat and maybe a ‘good’ electoral platform to run on in India.
Off-topic:
What about Dhoom 3 Review?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Coming in a little while!
Summary – Not Worth It!
Good to know I was able to contribute to this article 🙂
My intention was to expose the real Devyani and its sickening to see that the media/Govt and the IFS Elite (read Foreign ministry) is trying so hard to portray her as a nice victim. Like Salam Khurshid said on the TV , there is only victim and that is Devyani.. !!
As the media fog clears the real truth is coming out. This lady enjoys the clout in india be it through her IAS Dad or whatever connections because she holds 11 properties in india as far as kerala within 14 years of service with a salary of 50000. Something doesn’t add up.
Although one thing adds up, that is she seems to be conditioned to take the easy/dirty route to being Richie rich.
The Adarsh scam report says she misrepresented the fact that she already had an apartment to get a flat in Adarsh. So it seems misrepresenting or fudging on visa papers is nothing new to her. To get a plum NY consulate posting is not easy too. The indian govt is losing its face supporting an official that’s in the wrong. Come on the Russian diplomats were booked by the same Preet Bharara and they didn’t make a hue and cry like we did, because they were seen misusing the medical system.
So yes, protest for the mistreatment (strip search) etc but don’t side with her on what she did. Btw it seems she was not handcuffed or cavity searched as she says (that’s what Preet Bharara statement says).
And to all the media spending energy on this issue, lets use that energy to protest when clean and much important Indians are frisked like Abdul Kalams frisking at US airport incident for instance..
Also wish the new Lokpal bill that was passed in the indian parliament has some teeth and does exactly what it is meant to be – punishing the corrupt officials. Weed it at the root so that we don’t have such taint officials representing india.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. I suspect a deal will be stuck between India and the U.S. in which both sides will claim ‘victory’ and Devyani will return to “Mera Bharat Mahaan.”
I’d be extremely surprised if this woman were to actually stand trial for her alleged crimes.
2. You write: Btw it seems she was not handcuffed or cavity searched as she says (that’s what Preet Bharara statement says).
As per U.S. Marshals regulation, there are two kinds of cavity searches – Touch-free kind (a.k.a. Strip search) and a Touch-based, intrusion variety (a.k.a Digital Cavity search).
The Touch-based search involves the insertion of finger, thumb or an object into all cavities to check for concealed contraband.
Most likely, what Devyani experienced was a Touch-free visual cavity search. Not the “intrusion” based cavity search.
Hence the confusion and the claims from Devyani and denials from Bharara.
Source: http://www.usmarshals.gov/foia/Directives-Policy/prisoner_ops/body_searches.pdf
This entire game has been played by Sangeeta Richard, Phillip and his parents very meticulously.
They have framed and used Ms. Khobragade in the whole episode and she unknowingly played right into their hands.
They also have used US consulate to achieve what they wanted and consulate also has fallen prey to their devious schemes.
Plot is extraordinary.
Simply, their goal was to immigrate to US, but they were poor with limited means and worse – no skills.
Ms. Sangeeta has placed herself in the hands of Khobragade as a maid servant/nanny in order to move to US. She well knew the weakness of Indians to underpay and she probably asked Ms. Khobragade to make payments in cash and she knew, being a live-in nanny, the work hours would be ill-structured, sometimes less and sometimes more.
This helped case for underpay because there was no paper trail on payment and claim of abuse – because it was a live-in arrangement.
This helped her to build a “case” for her T-visa requirements. At an opportune moment she has forced the issue to get this “contract” stuff from Khobragade written on paper as a proof.
After this contract was in black and white, things were well in motion for the family to join from India – Richard and kids get passport and apply for T-visa with strings pulled at the consulate with the assistance of his parents (parents worked in US consulate in some capacity, perhaps as US State department agents? Otherwise why would US go to this extent to help this family?).
They get additional help from Ms. Devyani with the case registered against Sangeeta, which actually reinforces her case for T-visa even more. Now Devyani is made to look like vampire witch out to extract these people and Indian government with case registered on them is made to look like a country that is trying to persecute them. Hey they worked a perfect case for a T-visa – very expertly executed indeed.
To top this all up, US state department is all too energized to arrest Ms. Devyani – she has a contract in black white that says what she was paying was different from what she agreed on paper.
All parties exploited, Devyani gets screwed, US and Indian government exchange diplomatic fire and these Richards are happily absconding with their dream becoming a reality.
It is unbelievable how and to what extent these Richard guys have gone to execute their plan. Richard’s parents are also part of the scheme because they expect to join the son and daughter in-law at some stage which again has been planned well in advance.
Now we have people sympathizing with these scheming, devious, cunning frauds Richards as being victims of bonded labor……
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Much as we like to think ex-post facto that events in life are an outcome of meticulously choreographed and well plotted strategies, they are often not so.
A lot of what we see in life happen in a bizarre way, what can be conceptualized as the Law of Unintended Consequences.
Sangeeta came here (i.e. the U.S) with the intention of a better life.
But once she saw the affluence of other people in NYC, her ambition soared. Nothing wrong in that. That’s how human nature works.
Like any shrewd entrepreneur or the CEO of a startup, Sangeeta modified her plans, adapting them to the environment she saw around her.
If Devyani had paid Sangeeta the legally promised wages (i.e. as per the wages declared in the Visa application to the U.S. Embassy in Delhi), there was nothing she would have been able to do.
Devyani could have easily planted her boot on Sangeeta’s backside and kicked her back to Mera Bharat Mahaan.
Instead, Devyani provided Sangeeta an opportunity.
But once Sangeeta walked of the house and enlisted the support of a non-profit group and once the Indian Consulate officials went to the non-profit group’s office, things took a dramatic turn and went out of her hands – Like the thugs most Indians with even little power are, the Consulate officials must have acted tough to the maid and threatened her and her family in India, in no time NYPD Cops were called, State Dept officials got involved, the hyper-ambitious Preet Bharara started drooling at the thought of another press release with his name on it, ties between my two countries U.S. and India deteriorated and, voila, the U.S. Marshals found themselves peering into Devyani’s posterior and anterior orifices!
And before we know it, things had escalated so much that you wrote a thesis on L’Affaire Devyani from your base in the Middle East and as your thesis evaluator in America I’m now responding to your thesis (i.e. this comment). 😉
If our elite IFS can be outwitted by a simple maid just imagine of what the Pakistani ISI can do?
Incompetence is worse than corruption.
Of all crimes the biggest crime is stupidity.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. When the incident (i.e. news of Devyani’s arrest) came to light, my first thought was whether the Pakis had a hand in it to generate negative publiShitty to India. But I quickly put the thought aside because we (i.e. Indians) are perfectly capable of shooting ourselves in the foot without external intervention.
Much as I loath the ISI for their violent meddling in Mera Bharat Mahaan, I doff my hat to them because they are a better agency than Indian intelligence agencies.
2. You write: Of all crimes the biggest crime is stupidity.
No, stupidity is an affliction, an imposition like a disease.
Cowardice is the biggest crime because it is voluntary and tells the world: Bhaiyya, Aaram Se Maar Meri Gaand.
Indian Intelligence Agency – New addition to my oxymoron list.
Little off the topic:
So, even if a person is sentenced with imprisonment of more than twenty years, he/she could be released so soon by good conduct?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Anand_Sheela
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ib8MdHT61k
Btw, have you been there in US observing when these incidents took place?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. We have the system of plea bargaining here….whereby if defendants (accused) confess to their crimes and save the state the cost of the trial they can get away with a lesser sentences.
Few cases go to trial because prosecutors prefer the less risky route of plea bargaining…it looks good on their resumes. Whereas a defeat at trial would be a black mark against prosecutors.
I have read about several plea bargain cases in the newspapers here.
2. But now it’s getting tougher because we have several private prison corporations and new laws like Three Strikes where criminals can get put away for life for the third crime (even if it’s a small crime like stealing a pair of sneakers).
Often, it’s Blacks who fall victim to Three Strikes!
Private prison corporations lobby for tough sentencing laws and today speak in terms of occupancy rates because of their desire for higher profits.
As always, you can count on the peerless and fearless SI Blog to cover these topics: 😉
http://www.searchindia.com/2013/05/22/in-amazing-america-jail-occupancy-rate-is-higher-than-hotel-occupancy-rate/
http://www.searchindia.com/2007/11/20/americas-prison-population-up-up-up/
http://www.searchindia.com/2009/03/03/americans-prisoners-of-prison-industrial-complex/
3. Boy, do I love Sheela Ambalal Patel.
She sure got balls. My kinda gal!
Sheela whipped the crappy interviewer in your YouTube link! 😉
I liking her basically. 🙂
Happy New Year!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Good Health & Prosperity to You Too in 2014 and the years beyond, Sweetie!
If you love Korean soaps, I recommend My Love From the Star featuring Jun Ji-Hyun, the girl in The Berlin File. Episode 5 just got uploaded a short while ago but no subtitles yet.
Free on Viki – http://www.viki.com/tv/20503c-my-love-from-the-star
Looks like they are updating the subtitles as well. I’ll try to watch when it gets fully uploaded.
There are too many good TV shows that I’ve missed for a while that I have a hard time keeping track of episodes.
I finished watching the first season of “Breaking Bad” that I got as a gift. Really good! I am not sure if I’ll be able to keep up with the rest of the episodes though.
There are other TV shows that I liked but slowly slipped off. I liked a few episodes from “Nip/Tuck”, “Rescue Me” & “Bones”. I liked “Tudor” a lot but stopped watching after Anne Boleyn got beheaded. The list goes on. I haven’t watched “Lost” or “Walking Dead” yet. Its been on my instant queue for a while. Still haven’t finished “Sopranos”.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Breaking Bad & Tudor look interesting from your list
2. Series 3 of BBC’s contemporary adaptation of Sherlock Holmes started today:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_%28TV_series%29#Series_3_.282014.29
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01dmfz6
3. Like 200 million other Americans (am excluding illegal immigrants, Gujaratis, Telugu biddas etc), I too am waiting for Season 2 of House of Cards to start February 14, 2014.
SI’s Review of Season 1 of House of Cards – http://www.searchindia.com/2013/02/04/house-of-cards-review-power-sex-greed-betrayal-corruption-and-a-steal-for-8/
Did you mean Sheela?
She confessed to be the main perpetrator of what is hailed as the first and single largest bioterrorist attack in the history of United States that made 751 Americans stay inside their restrooms for days because of intensive diarrhea. A true shit-festival!
Never piss an Indian woman off in USA! 😉
Btw, I wish SI & everyone a happy new year. Happier moments and Greater achievements ahead.
May better sense prevail in 2014.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
May Marriage Come Your Way in 2014 & May You be Blessed with a Dozen Girl Babies.
Google is the base for my thesis
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Good lord, I never questioned the source of your information.
Only how you fashioned the raw putty (information) you gleaned from Google.
In my response to your previous comment, I questioned, and still do, the essential premise of your argument that Sangeeta & family played the Trap-Devyani game “very meticulously.”
You attribute to Sangeeta intelligence and plotting skills she lacks because you’re blinded by the ex-posto events after her hiring, particularly happenings of the last 8-days.