READ ALSO:

Stalled probe frustrates police

READ ALSO:

Family disowns Nepal woman ‘raped’ by diplomat

(Horror story: The two women alleged that they were raped and tortured.)

READ ALSO:

Outrage grows as diplomat's rape probe trips on protocol

NEW DELHI: With the Saudi diplomat rape case dragging on for almost a week, the strain is telling on both New Delhi and Riyadh. But the end may be in sight as India has rolled out its big guns to resolve the affair.National security advisor Ajit Doval has decided to take up the issue after it was felt in the government that a solution needed to be found quickly in the interests of bilateral relations. There is expectation that both sides may come to an understanding on the fate of the diplomat early this week. Since Gurgaon police is believed to have messed up in the initial phase, the case may be transferred to Delhi Police depending on the advice by the foreign ministry, which may make a resolution easier to achieve.In addition, Nepalese officials are expected to meet Saudi embassy officials on Monday because the alleged victims rescued from the diplomat’s apartment are also looking for justice.In their explanations to the government, the Saudis have raised the issue of Gurgaon police violating the diplomat’s privacy and entering his home without permission. The government has asserted that the police did not seek the foreign ministry’s permission before conducting the raid to rescue the victims, and the raid was halted after the ministry reached out to Gurgaon police. The government has also tried to stop the police from sharing details with the media, but this has had little effect, partly because of the horrific nature of the crime.The Saudis have also denied that the maids were confined to the house, stressing that they had had the freedom to move around freely, both with and without the family. In addition, they said the diplomat has been in residence for a little over two months. They also denied any rape, which was stressed in the only public statement made by the embassy.Nepali women open up, say 'raped, we were sick with fear & hunger'Saudis snipe at ‘intrusive’ cops, Nepal ready to wait for probeHowever, police and medical details tell a very different story, and as the sordid details are revealed by the survivors themselves, there is almost no support for the Saudi explanation. The accused’s status of diplomatic immunity means he cannot be prosecuted under Indian laws, and will have to go. The question is the terms under which he is removed.India-Saudi ties have completely transformed in the past decade, after the 2006 visit by King Abdullah. Saudi Arabia is now one of India’s top sources of energy, while the two countries are cooperating on counter-terrorism in a way that is unprecedented.There are shades of the Devyani Khobragade affair in this one -- then it was the New York police which had arrested and strip-searched the Indian diplomat but that was with the express permission of the state department. Here, the Saudis are basing their defence on the arbitrary action by Gurgaon police, but the government is in the clear because there was no such authorization by the foreign ministry.