France won't contact India on Pascal trial, refuses to intervene

Bangalore: France has refused to intervene in a case in which an employee of French consulate in Bangalore has been charged with raping his daughter.French President Francois Hollande's Counsellor for Asia-Pacific at the Elysee, Christian Lechervy, has said France would not contact the Indian government on the ongoing trial against Pascal Mazurier.Lechervy had yesterday confirmed to lawyers of Suja Jones, who had charged her husband with raping their daughter, that France "is not to take sides in this matter", a press release said here.[caption id="attachment_636597" align="alignleft" width="380"] Pascal Mazurier. Screen grab/ ibnlive[/caption]The representatives of the French Consulate here will not be present with the accused during the court hearings, it said.The Counsellor said the Consular Protection, that is due to all French expatriates, would be made available to the mother and her French children.Pascal, Consular Attache to the Consulate General of France here, was arrested on June 19 last year following a complaint by his wife that he had raped their three-and-a-half year old daughter.He was chargesheeted on September 17 under Section 376 of IPC for allegedly raping his minor daughter.The High Court had on October 17 granted conditional bail to Pascal observing that the circumstantial evidence did not "specify" that he had committed the offence.PTI