US Undersecretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman calls Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh over diplomat case

US Undersecretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman on Thursday called Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh in an effort to find a solution to the diplomatic row over the arrest and strip-search of an Indian diplomat in New York, sources said.

According to sources, Sherman called Singh to find a resolution to the US-India stand-off over the humiliating treatment meted out to Devyani Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York.

Khobragade was strip and cavity-searched following her arrest on charges of visa fraud and underpaying her maid.

The call by Sherman was a follow-up to the call by US Secretary of State John Kerry to National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon Wednesday, during which Kerry expressed regret over the situation.

Both sides Thursday discussed specific steps during which the statement by Manhattan's India-born US attorney Preet Bharara came up, defending his department's action against Khobragade.

It was learnt that Sherman distanced herself from Bharara's statement.