Tuesday, December 21 2004 09:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The United States has said it is paying "quite a bit of attention" in the case in which Baazee.com CEO Avnish Bajaj, an American of Indian origin, has been arrested for allegedly peddling pornography on Internet.

"It is a matter that we are paying quite a bit of attention to," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher yesterday (Dec 20, 2004) said.

"We will continue to provide him with consular services and monitor any developments," he said.

Asked whether National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice called the Indian Government regarding the arrest, he said "he did not know whether Rice personally made calls on this".

Boucher refrained from commenting on External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh's recent remarks in South Korea vis-a-vis Pokhran nuclear tests.

"I haven't seen the remarks. I don't think that it is something we would want to jump into," he said.