Bengaluru court acquits French diplomat, says he did not rape his daughter

Pascal Mazurier was accused by his Indian wife Suja Mazurier of sexually abusing his daughter in 2012.

Pascal Mazurier, the French diplomat who was accused by his Indian wife Suja Mazurier of raping their three-year-old daughter in 2012, was acquitted by a local court in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Pascal Mazurier holding a placard at a protest in Bangalore on June 17, 2015. (AFP File Photo)

Although the order of the court is not yet available, lawyers connected with the case said the judge did not find enough evidence to establish rape.

Emerging from the court, Pascal — who was the deputy head of the chancery in the consulate of France here before his arrest —said he wanted to put the incident behind him and meet his children. He also accused his estranged wife of being a “criminal”. Suja, on the other hand, accused the Bengaluru police of colluding with Pascal and the French mission in suppressing evidence, something she has maintained all along the five-year trial. She said the judgment will be challenged in the high court.

When the story first broke on June 14, 2012, it appeared to be an open-and-shut case as Suja’s complaint to the police was accompanied by a medical report from the Collaborative Child Response Unit (CCRU) of the baptist hospital here. The CCRU report, which was widely circulated in the media, said the child bore tell-tale marks of sexual abuse and there were traces of semen on her clothes.

The case took several twists and turns after this, with the French expat community accusing Suja of fabricating evidence.