A diplomat from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who has been accused of keeping two Nepali women as sex slaves has been allowed to leave India after he claimed diplomatic immunity. The Saudi official left the country within hours after the Gurgaon police requested the External Affairs Ministry to allow them access to interrogate him.
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup who identified the diplomat as Majed Hassan Ashoor, the first secretary at the Saudi Embassy in New Delhi, said in a statement on Wednesday evening (17 September) that Ashoor, "who is allegedly accused of abusing two Nepali maids, has left India." According to the Economic Times report, the diplomat left India on Wednesday night.
The Saudi embassy official has been accused by two Nepalese women who worked as maids in the diplomat's luxury apartment near New Delhi, of illegally confining and raping them for the past several months. The two alleged that they were being kept as sex slaves and would often be raped by the guests of the diplomat as well.
The police removed the two from the diplomat's house last week, after a non-governmental organisation filed a case. They are currently in Nepal.
The police had filed a case of rape, sodomy and illegal confinement against the official, but could not act against him because of diplomatic immunity. Under the Vienna Convention, diplomats cannot be arrested or face criminal prosecution in the country where they are posted.
The Saudi Embassy has denied the allegations against the diplomat, and had refused to let police question him.
The incident also had put India on a shaky ground. While Nepal and India share close diplomatic ties, Saudi Arabia employs 2,000,000 Indians and also is India's second largest oil-supplier.
Analysts told BBC that the departure of Majed Hassan Ashoor 'resolves a diplomatic dilemma for India'.
The diplomat reportedly was removed from India along with family on the orders of the Saudi government.
