India diplomat says she faced cavity search in NYC

NEW DELHI: An Indian diplomat says she underwent repeated cavity and strip searches following her arrest in New York City on visa fraud charges.

The case has escalated into a diplomatic storm between the United States and India.

Devyani Khobragade is India´s deputy consul general in New York. She was arrested last week on charges that she submitted false documents to obtain a work visa for her Manhattan housekeeper.

In an email to her foreign service colleagues in India, the 39-year-old Khobragade said she "broke down many times" and faced "repeated handcuffing, stripping and cavity searches."

An Indian official with direct knowledge of the case confirmed the email was authentic.