Indian Embassy Worker Tied to Arms Conspiracy

The Washington Post
Mar 14, 2008

An employee with the Indian Embassy in Washington and Indian government agencies conspired with an international electronics executive to obtain secret weapons technology from U.S. companies, according to a guilty plea the businessman made yesterday in federal court. The plea by Parthasarathy Sudarshan, 47, before a federal judge in Washington suggests the Indian government violated a pledge made in 2004 that it would not try to bypass U.S. export-control laws and regulations that were imposed after India tested a nuclear weapon in 1998. The Bush administration has invested significant effort in seeking to conclude a deal that would give India access to U.S. civilian nuclear technology. The deal, which has stalled because of political difficulties in India, requires final approval from Congress, and some lawmakers expressed outrage after an indictment of Sudarshan was unsealed last year.