WASHINGTON, DC: Judging by reactions from India’s political class and the country’s media, it is evident that the arrest of Dr. Devyani Khobragade, the Deputy Consul General at the Consulate General of India in New York, came as a shock to many in the world’s largest democracy.

Bowing to the pressure from the opinion-makers, who have been calling for tit-for-tat ever since Khobragade’s arrest in New York last week over visa fraud and false statement, the Indian government on Tuesday announced a series of retaliatory measures that, curiously, included removing security barriers in front of the US embassy in New Delhi.

Evidently, any dispassionate observer will tell you that it was overreaction at best. At the heart of the matter here is the failure on the part of Indians to understand the American system.

As both the Department of State and US Marshals made it clear, standard procedures have been followed in this instance. Anyone who has a basic understanding of the US law enforcement knows that officers have to follow same procedure for people accused of any crime. Even for speeding violations, the arrested often get handcuffed and locked up.  Prima facie, the Indian diplomat did commit fraud and federal prosecutor and police acted based on evidence.

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