India moved Friday to oust a U.S. diplomat from the American Embassy here, hours after the departure from the United States of an Indian consular officer who was asked to leave after she was indicted on charges of visa fraud. What appeared to be a tit-for-tat action may lead to a calming of the month-long dispute that has roiled U.S.-Indian relations.

In an escalating diplomatic fight, India has demanded that US diplomats adhere to the country's traffic rules. On Wednesday, the Indian government also ordered the US Embassy in New Delhi to stop selling liquor and other duty-free goods to non-diplomats by Jan. 16. The moves are the latest retaliatory measures taken by India following the arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade on visa fraud charges in New York last month.

India chipped away at America's diplomatic perks Wednesday, ordering the envoys to obey local traffic laws and warning that a popular U.S. Embassy club violates diplomatic law because it is open to outsiders. The moves were the latest in a campaign to exert pressure on the U.S. following the arrest and strip search last month of Devyani Khobragade, an Indian diplomat based in New York City.

Earlier this month, U.S. Marshals arrested Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, who was serving as the deputy consul general at the Indian Consulate in New York City. She was accused of committing visa fraud to bring a domestic worker into the United States and of paying the worker less than the minimum wage. The arrest led to a strong rebuke from the Indian government, which disputed the charges and objected to the way in which the arrest was carried out.

The recent arrest of an Indian consular official has brought to the forefront the issue of human trafficking. Devyani Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York, allegedly forced her maid to work for less than half of minimum wage. Advocates say the problem concerning workers for foreign governments is all too common. Because of the complications surrounding immunity laws, many abuse cases often go unreported or uncharged, advocates say. Victims' claims often end up in civil court for that reason, they say.

Sangeeta Richard, the domestic helper from India at the center of the recent US-India diplomatic debacle, remains in the US on an immigration status given to victims of human trafficking, indicating that is the charge US authorities are investigating in the high-profile case.

India took retaliatory measures against the United States on Wednesday in a row over an Indian diplomat who complained of being stripped and forced to undergo “cavity searches” while in U.S. detention. The measures included a revision of work conditions of Indians employed at U.S. consulates and a freeze on the import of duty-free alcohol.

The United States and India are in the middle of a diplomatic spat. It began when India's deputy consul general in New York, Devyani Khobragade, was arrested last week for allegedly submitting a fraudulent visa application for her housekeeper.