A week after the arrest and strip-search of an Indian diplomat in New York caused a international firestorm, new details are emerging about the woman at the center of the controversy, a seemingly contradictory figure who advocated for women's rights in public but is accused of underpaying and overworking her nanny at home.

Devyani Khobragade, 39, who had previously been posted in Germany and Pakistan, cut an impressive figure in her job as deputy consul general at the Indian Consulate when she arrived in New York last November.

In perfectly draped saris, she hosted meetings and gave speeches to female Asian entrepreneurs and doctors. "India always believes in encouraging its women," she said after one event, in a video posted on YouTube.