NEW YORK – A lawyer representing a New York City police officer detained in India says the weapons arrest should not be linked to an Indian diplomat's earlier arrest in the U.S.
Officer Manny Encarnacion was arrested last month while traveling in New Delhi, and he has been barred from leaving that country until the case is resolved.
The New York Police Department said Encarnacion was arrested after Indian authorities discovered three bullets he had accidentally packed in his luggage.
U.S. Rep. Peter King suggested Friday the arrest was payback for last year's arrest of Indian consular official Devyani Khobragade (dayv-YAHN'-ee KOH'-bruh-gah-day) for alleged visa fraud in New York.
But Encarnacion's Indian lawyer, Samarjit Pattnaik, said in a statement released Saturday there is no reason to suspect any diplomatic connection in the case.
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