India Tuesday took a slew of steps to pare down the privileges of American diplomats as an apparent retaliatory measure in the wake of the arrest and the purported strip search of its high-ranking diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York.
According to top sources, US diplomats in consulates across India have been asked to surrender their Diplomatic Identity Cards issued to them and their families by the Indian government.
India has also withdrawn all airport passes for consulates and import clearances for the embassy. This helped them to import liquor without paying airport fees.
Knowledgeable sources said Delhi Police have also been asked to remove security barricades outside the US embassy. The barricades for years restricted public movement around the embassy and normal vehicular traffic was particularly barred from the slip road in front of the embassy and the visa office at the back of the chancery.
India is also seeking details like salaries paid to Indian staff employed in the US consulates, including those working as domestic helps with the families of American officials because there is suspicion that Indian staff at the US embassy were discriminated against.