Indian diplomat's father says maid was like family

NEW DELHI — The father of an Indian diplomat who was arrested and strip searched in New York for allegedly underpaying her housekeeper says his daughter treated the woman "like family."

The case has set off an international furor between India and the United States as both sides offer starkly different accounts of what happened.

The diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, says she's being targeted by a vindictive housekeeper who wants to stay in the United States. The housekeeper says she was overworked and underpaid and needed to escape.

Khobragade's father, Uttam Khobragade, said Friday that the housekeeper was treated well, had Sundays off and had free reign in the family home.

The case has sparked broad outrage in India, with top officials saying Khobragade is facing degrading treatment by U.S. authorities.