Few days back, I took Uber to get to Penn Station to catch Amtrak. The car showed up and the driver name was Philip. I thought it would be non-south Asian given that I mostly come across Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian Uber drivers in NYC. I find the driver Indian.
After getting into the car he asks me if I am Indian and I say yes. I ask him where he is from. He tells me he is from Delhi, immigrated an year back, was working in gas station before introduced to Uber by friends few weeks back and now he is driving Uber full time. He tells me that he drove for embassies in Delhi. I ask him how he came to US. He tells me that he is world famous and that is why he is here in US !!!
Phillip tells me he was famous from the famous US-Indian diplomatic tussle that happened in 2013 that ruffled Indo-US relationships. Devyani Khobrogade was an Indian diplomat who was arrested and alleged strip searched by the police in US on charges that she was not paying the minimum wages to the maid that she brought from India. The maid, Sangeeta Richard, claimed that she was paid the equivalent of $573.07 a month, which would work out to about $3.31 an hour based on a 40-hour workweek. She claimed that she typically worked 90 to 100 hours a week, which would work out to only $1.32 to $1.46 an hour. Devyani and her father fought this case both in US and in India and on the Indian streets. Indian government in turn harassed US diplomat wives working without proper paper work in local embassy school. Eventually Devyani was allowed to leave US on diplomate visa.
Phillip is husband of the maid/nanny, Sangeeta Richard. They have two grown up children who are now 19 and 21 years and attending local university. Phillip tells me that he was whisked out of India with only two days notice. He sold his car and house and come to US with $15k. He was in contact with US officials after his wife told about being harrassed by Devyani. They gave him asylum and brought him out of India.
I was asking the details of the case when he told me that it is ver possible Sangeeta was lying and may be exploiting the situation. I was taken aback.
Once Richard reached US, he had a bigger shock. He moved in with his wife and kids. Few weeks later, he went to social security office to apply for SS number and when he returned, the room was empty. His wife left with the kids along with his $15k cash and furniture. When he reached her over the phone, she told him that she has moved in with the ex-driver of Devyani along with her children. He threatened to go to police if he doesn't stop calling her.
Phillip claims that his wife had been having an affair with the driver she was working in US and he was in India. He believe she was instigated by the driver to file a complaint about Devyani to exploit the situation. He claims that he was not aware of these until he came to US. He claims Sangeeta made the wild claims only to stay back in US.
He now lives in a basement in Queens in NYC sharing it with a Bangaldeshi driver. He lost touch with his family and friends in India. Claims that he has about 420 arrest warrants against him in India, penniless in US, without children and his life is devastated. His sister and family members in India continue to get harrassed by Devyani's father who is now a politician and member of parliament.
Phillip contacted the US authorities to explain the situation and they don't want to do anything with his domestic issues. I was intrigued. That evening I browsed about this case and looked for off-the-road articles about the inside scoop. There are few of them and here are few tidbits:
After getting into the car he asks me if I am Indian and I say yes. I ask him where he is from. He tells me he is from Delhi, immigrated an year back, was working in gas station before introduced to Uber by friends few weeks back and now he is driving Uber full time. He tells me that he drove for embassies in Delhi. I ask him how he came to US. He tells me that he is world famous and that is why he is here in US !!!
Phillip tells me he was famous from the famous US-Indian diplomatic tussle that happened in 2013 that ruffled Indo-US relationships. Devyani Khobrogade was an Indian diplomat who was arrested and alleged strip searched by the police in US on charges that she was not paying the minimum wages to the maid that she brought from India. The maid, Sangeeta Richard, claimed that she was paid the equivalent of $573.07 a month, which would work out to about $3.31 an hour based on a 40-hour workweek. She claimed that she typically worked 90 to 100 hours a week, which would work out to only $1.32 to $1.46 an hour. Devyani and her father fought this case both in US and in India and on the Indian streets. Indian government in turn harassed US diplomat wives working without proper paper work in local embassy school. Eventually Devyani was allowed to leave US on diplomate visa.
Phillip is husband of the maid/nanny, Sangeeta Richard. They have two grown up children who are now 19 and 21 years and attending local university. Phillip tells me that he was whisked out of India with only two days notice. He sold his car and house and come to US with $15k. He was in contact with US officials after his wife told about being harrassed by Devyani. They gave him asylum and brought him out of India.
I was asking the details of the case when he told me that it is ver possible Sangeeta was lying and may be exploiting the situation. I was taken aback.
Once Richard reached US, he had a bigger shock. He moved in with his wife and kids. Few weeks later, he went to social security office to apply for SS number and when he returned, the room was empty. His wife left with the kids along with his $15k cash and furniture. When he reached her over the phone, she told him that she has moved in with the ex-driver of Devyani along with her children. He threatened to go to police if he doesn't stop calling her.
Phillip claims that his wife had been having an affair with the driver she was working in US and he was in India. He believe she was instigated by the driver to file a complaint about Devyani to exploit the situation. He claims that he was not aware of these until he came to US. He claims Sangeeta made the wild claims only to stay back in US.
He now lives in a basement in Queens in NYC sharing it with a Bangaldeshi driver. He lost touch with his family and friends in India. Claims that he has about 420 arrest warrants against him in India, penniless in US, without children and his life is devastated. His sister and family members in India continue to get harrassed by Devyani's father who is now a politician and member of parliament.
Phillip contacted the US authorities to explain the situation and they don't want to do anything with his domestic issues. I was intrigued. That evening I browsed about this case and looked for off-the-road articles about the inside scoop. There are few of them and here are few tidbits:
- Sangeeta requested to work part-time few months after she started to work for Devyani in NYC. Permission denied.
- Sangeeta disappears. Devyani could not file missing-person report with NYC police. Police requests kith-and-kin to file it. Sangeet's husband refuses to file one from India.
- Devyani claims getting a call from a lady blackmailing about overworking her maid and asking her to change Sangeeta's visa to allow her to terminate her work and work in US. Devyani reports this to the police in NYC
- Philip non-cooperative in India. Devyani files a FIR against Philip in India.
- Philip whisked out of India by US and given asylum visa. Few days after he reaches US, Devyani was arrested and the diplomatic blowup happens.
- Sangeeta's mother-in-law (Agnes) and father-in-law (Phillip's parents) worked with embassies in Delhi and that could be the reason how Sangeeta was able to land up as maid with Devyani. One article quoted Agnes saying that her daughter-in-law always wanted to go abroad to work.
Few days after landing in US, Sangeeta leaves Philip with her children for another man. Philip claims that the daughter knew about this and refuses to return to the father and that Sangeeta wants Philip to take their son instead. Philip wanted both the children.
Philip now rents and lives in a room in a basement somewhere in Queens, makes a living driving Uber taxi. He claims that he was duped by his wife into thinking that she was being exploited by Devyani and now he says that may not be the case. He has no connection with India. He keeps in touch with his sister. No mention about his parents. Says he is not in touch with friends in India. He cannot return to India and he is nobody in US and alone. Looks like he bit more than he can chew.
1 comment:
Tales of an NRI can be a fake one... Because will NRI share there visit stories to anybody else?
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