The Indian foreign ministry said on Friday (January 10) that the Indian diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, who has been at the centre of a diplomatic row with the United States has left New York and been transferred to another post in the Indian capital, New Delhi.

Khobragade has reiterated her innocence on charges filed against her of visa fraud and underpaying her nanny, a ministry statement said.

She is flying back to India to take up duties at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, but for now her children remain in the United States, it added.

The spokesperson of India's Foreign Ministry, Syed Akbaruddin said that Khobragade had already left for home.

"The US government requested the Government of India to wave the immunity of counsellor (Devyani) Khobragade. On 9th January 2014, the Government of India declined to do so and transferred counsellor Khobragade to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. She has since departed for home," he said.

The Indian diplomat, whose arrest and strip-search in New York caused a major rift between India and the United States, was indicted for visa fraud on Thursday (January 09), and the U.S. government immediately asked her to leave the country.

A U.S. government official said Washington accepted a request by India to accredit the diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, at the United Nations and then asked New Delhi to waive the diplomatic immunity that her status conferred. India denied the request, leading Washington to ask for her departure, the official said.

Khobragade, who was deputy consul-general in New York, was arrested on December 12 and charged with one count of visa fraud and another of making false statements about how much she paid her housekeeper.

Furious at Khobragade's treatment, India has curtailed privileges offered to American diplomats and ordered the U.S. Embassy to close a club for American expatriates in New Delhi.

Presented by Adam Justice

New York