French diplomat accused of sexually abusing minor daughter

Bangalore, June 15: A case has been registered against a French diplomat here on a complaint by his wife that he had been sexually abusing their minor daughter, a senior police official said Friday.

"We have registered a case against Pascal Mazurier under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on a complaint by his Indian housewife that he had been sexually abusing their four-year-old daughter," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ravikant Gowda told IANS.

Mazurier is the deputy head of chancery in the French consulate here. The case was registered late Thursday at the High Grounds police station, which is less than one km from the French consulate in the upscale Vasanthnagar.

"As the case is under investigation, the diplomat is being interrogated to verify the charges. We have not arrested the accused as we are waiting for the medical report of the child," Gowda said.

The alleged sexual abuse of the minor came to light when the diplomat's wife, who hails from Kerala, approached the Enfold Proactive Health Trust, a non-government organisation (NGO) here, for counselling as she was going through a trauma of being a mute witness to her husband abusing their child for weeks.

"The incident has been brought to our notice by a member of the NGO that the child's mother had accused her French husband of molesting their child," Karnataka Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Nina Nayak told IANS.

The mother had taken her daughter to a state-run hospital for examination and a medical report for evidence of sexual abuse against the diplomat. "We have asked the NGO to take the child with her mother to a state-run hospital for examination and submit a report. In view of the sensitivity of the case and to protect their privacy, we will not be able to share details, like names etc, with the media," Nayak said.

The French Consulate in Bangalore declined to comment. "We have no comments as the consulate has nothing to do with a private incident," a spokesperson told IANS.

The couple have three children aged seven, four and a 20-month infant.