“It's been four days since I went to the police, but the entire investigation process, including his arrest, has been stalled. How long does it take for the authorities to decide and process whether he has a diplomatic passport or not,” asks 37-year-old Suja John Mazurier, who filed a complaint on Friday accusing her husband, Pascal Mazurier (39), Deputy Head of Chancery in the Consulate of France here, of raping their three-and-half year-old daughter.
In an exclusive interview to The Hindu , Ms. Mazurier speaks about her frustration with the status of the case, the “insensitivity” of the system towards a mother who is coping with the trauma aftermath of going public on a grievous case of alleged child sexual abuse. She expresses the hope that the Government of India will help deliver justice to her.
Mr. Mazurier was let off by the police after a short interrogation and medical examination on the basis of an “assurance letter” submitted by a consulate official. Ms. Mazurier has since been “running from pillar to post, juggling between taking care of her three children, going through medical tests and police interrogations, and meeting counsellors.”
“I do not know why it is taking so long. But I would like to appeal to the authorities — the Union government, the police and the French authorities here — to take this case up with urgency,” she said. Reiterating what she had written to the External Affairs Ministry, she says her appeal to the government is to ensure that her husband is not allowed to leave the country, and that the investigation and trial process be held here.
Her complaint to the police was submitted with evidence in the form of a medical report from the Baptist Hospital, conducted hours after the alleged rape on June 13. She wonders why, after having followed due procedure, her child was put through additional tests at the government-run Bowring hospital a day later. Ms. Mazurier says the hospital has repeatedly been asking her to return for an HIV test for all three children.
Ms. Mazurier, who has been married for 11 years now, says she will “fight it out.” Her primary worry is her children — seven-year-old son, the three-and-half year-old alleged victim and a 20-month-old toddler — all French citizens. They need counselling and support, she says. As disappointed as she appears with lack of action on her complaint, Ms. Mazurier is clear that the investigation be carried out here. “Of course, things will be tough, but my biggest fear is that if Pascal is allowed to leave the country, then my children may be taken away from me.”
