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A French diplomat has been formally charged with raping his three-year-old daughter, at a pre-trial hearing in the southern Indian city of Bangalore.

Pascal Mazurier, 40, who worked as a consular official, denies the charges.

He is set to file a petition with the High Court asking for the case to be dismissed for lack of evidence.

A lower court in Bangalore dismissed a similar plea and ordered police to go ahead and press formal charges. A date for the trial is to be set this week.

At the sessions court last month lawyers for Mr Mazurier argued there was insufficient evidence against him, but Judge Shubha Gowdar dismissed their arguments and ruled he should stand trial.

He was arrested in June 2012, after his wife filed a complaint. He spent months in jail before being released on bail.