US State Dept. warns video showing strip search of Indian diplomat 'dangerous hoax'

The US State Department has reportedly warned that a video circulating on the web purporting to show an Indian diplomat being strip-searched is a dangerous hoax and may further escalate tensions between the US and India after Devyani Kobaragade case.

The video had been posted online in late December, claiming that it was the 'raw footage' of India's Deputy Consul General in New York, Khobragade's strip search after she was arrested on charges of lying on federal forms about her maid.

According to Fox News, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said that the graphic video was 'absolutely not footage' of Khobragade and was a dangerous, provocative fabrication.

Harf said that the video has appeared on some news website without confirming its authenticity, is deeply troubling, irresponsible and reckless.

She further clarified that the department confirmed with the US Marshals that the video does not depict their employees.

Meanwhile, US Attorney Preet Bharara has defended the charges against Khobragade, noting she's accused of paying her housekeeper 'far below minimum wage' and concealing it adding that the strip-search was done in private and that it is a 'standard practice' for all defendants.