Top levels of the U.S. government are concerned about the arrest of online auction site eBay's India unit chief, the U.S. State Department said Monday.
"This situation is one of concern at the highest levels of the U.S. government," spokesman Richard Boucher said, adding U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was following the issue closely.
Avnish Bajaj, head of eBay's India portal, bazee.com, was arrested in India Friday after a video CD of a teenage couple having oral sex was discovered being sold on the site. Bajaj, a U.S. citizen, was accused of not doing enough to prevent the sale of such material on the site. He has been denied bail.
Bajaj was visited by a U.S. consular officer from the U.S. embassy in New Delhi Saturday, Boucher said, adding U.S. consular officials will continue to provide him with consular services and monitor any developments.
"It is a matter that we're paying quite a bit of attention to," he said.
The schoolboy in the video appeared in court Monday while both he and his girlfriend, students at a prestigious New Delhi school, were expelled from the institution.
© Copyright 2004 by United Press International
