Ripples from India’s shocking “Nannygate” revenge arrest of a vacationing NYPD cop reached from City Hall to the State Department Friday — with Secretary of State John Kerry now being asked to demand the cop’s release.
“I would hope that India, a country that we have a good relationship with, would not stoop to the petty level of making a political pawn of this decorated NYPD cop and veteran,” Sen. Charles Schumer said of last month’s arrest, in New Delhi, of Harlem Police Officer Manny Encarnacion.
As reported exclusively by The Post, Encarnacion had accidentally left three bullets in the pocket of a jacket in his checked luggage when he flew to New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport for a vacation with his wife, Vida, on March 10.
“You guys like to strip-search our diplomats,” a security officer at the airport snarked as Encarnacion was arrested on felony charges under India’s Arms Act of 1959 — punishable by anywhere from three to seven years.
The officer’s remark was a clear reference to the arrest and strip search of Devyani Khobragade over visa fraud related to her nanny.
“I’ve asked the State Department to get deeply involved here and ensure Officer Encarnacion gets swift and just due process,” Schumer said Friday. “Anything less is unacceptable.”
Rep. Peter King called the arrest “outrageous” and said he, too, has sent a letter to Kerry.
“This excessive act by the Indian government is clearly politically motivated in response to the arrest of India’s then-Deputy Consul General in December 2013 in New York for alleged visa fraud,” King wrote Kerry.
Khobragade says she was strip-searched and manhandled when she was busted, sparking outrage in India.
“It is critical that the State Department intervene,” King wrote.
Encarnacion has been barred from leaving the country, and remains in limbo until his next court date, April 19.
News of the arrest left Mayor Bill de Blasio “troubled.”
“Obviously we want to know a lot more about what’s going on,” de Blasio said at a Ford Foundation law enforcement event in Midtown when asked about Encarnacion’s saga.
“But so far, from what I’m hearing, I’m troubled by it and I want to make sure we’re providing support to him and make sure he’s not being treated unfairly.”
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Friday the department is “staying very engaged with that issue in India … We are certainly concerned for that officer and for his wife who’s there with him in India at this time.
“But that’s a process that’s moving slowly in the India justice system — but we’re staying informed.”
Encarnacion’s fellow officers at the 25th Precinct are also standing behind him.
“Everything in The Post is true,” said one. “He is a professional. It was an honest mistake. He’s an ex-Marine and a solid cop.”
Another cop chimed in: “Manny is a good guy, a good man and a good cop. It’s not like he had his gun on him. He had three bullets. What’s the guy going to do, throw the bullets at someone? Ya’ know what I’m sayin’?”
Added a third, “He’s a great guy. This seems like a lot of bulls–t to me. He’s not just a good cop, he’s a good person.” Shaking his head, the cop repeated, “Bulls–t.”
Meanwhile, Kerry’s people confirmed only that his office knows of Encarnacion’s plight.
“The Department of State is aware of reports that a US citizen has been arrested in New Delhi, India, and takes its obligation to assist US citizens overseas seriously,” said Peter Velasco, a State Department spokesperson.
“However, because of privacy considerations, we are unable to comment further.”
Encarnacion has declined comment. But his lawyer, reached in New Delhi Friday, said the cop remains optimistic that the charges will be dropped.
“We are very hopeful,” said the lawyer, Samarjit Gajendra Pattnaik.
Especially helpful to the cop’s case have been letters sent to the judge from the NYPD, the lawyer said. The letters verify that Encarnacion is a cop and had been to a firing range for his firearms recertification just two days before the trip.
“That was helpful both for bail and for our position,” that Encarnacion had no criminal intent in possessing the rounds, Pattnaik said.
Additional reporting by Geoff Earle and Yoav Gonen