An Indian diplomat who was arrested in New York City and accused of paying her housekeeper about $US3 an hour had accused the woman of blackmail over the northern summer, an Indian official says.
The case has sparked a diplomatic firestorm between the US and India, which is outraged over what it described as degrading treatment towards Devyani Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York.
Khobragade, 39, was strip-searched and detained before posting $US250,000 ($A283,173) bail last week.
On Thursday, an official in India's External Affairs Ministry said Khobragade told Indian authorities in July that the maid had disappeared and was trying to blackmail her.
According to the official, the housekeeper said she would not report Khobragade if she agreed to pay her more money and change her visa status to allow her to work elsewhere in the US.
Khobragade filed a complaint with New York police and New Delhi police, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not clear what action was taken in the US, but New Delhi police issued a warrant for her arrest if she returned to India.
