Five years after Pascal Mazurier, a former employee with the French Consulate in Bengaluru, was arrested on charges of raping his then three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, a sessions court on Wednesday pronounced him not guilty. The court, while giving the verdict, cited lack of evidence to prove Mr. Mazurier’s guilt.
Mr. Mazurier, 44, had been booked under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code by the High Grounds police in 2012 following a complaint filed by his wife. At the time of his arrest, he was the Deputy Head of Chancery at the French Consulate in Bengaluru. “Over 26 witnesses were examined. The medical evidence and other parameters submitted by the police, along with the charge sheet, proved false for which my client was exonerated,” S . Mahesh, counsel for Mr. Mazurier, told The Hindu .
Soon after his acquittal, Mr. Mazurier who addressed the media, said, “It has been a long battle, but I am happy that justice has been done.”
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The prosecution as well as the girl’s mother, however, reiterated that they had not given up their fight for justice. B.T. Venkatesh, special public prosecutor, maintained that it was a “very good case fit for prosecution”, and plans to appeal the judgement in the Karnataka High Court.