India French envoy Pascal Mazurier acquitted of raping daughter

Image source, AFP

Image caption, Pascal Mazurier (centre) was arrested in 2012 and released on bail

A former French diplomat charged with raping his three-year-old daughter in India has been cleared of all charges.

Pascal Mazurier, who was a consular official in the southern city of Bangalore, was arrested in 2012 after complaints from his Indian wife.

Mr Mazurier told 大象传媒 Hindi's Imran Qureshi that "justice had been done" and a "five year battle" had ended with the ruling.

His wife, Suja Jones Mazurier, has said she will appeal against the verdict.

She told an Indian television channel that his acquittal meant that her daughter "did not get justice".

French envoy charged over child rape

French envoy out on bail in India

Mr Mazurier said that he now intended to be a part of his children's lives.

"They are still young and they need to get the advice of their father. It is nowhere in my plans to abandon my children. I love them and they love me. What has been done by their mother is not their fault. So, I want to be there for them," he told the 大象传媒.

The verdict was announced by a special fast track Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) court, which had examined 27 witnesses during the course of the trial.

Mr Mazurier was arrested and held in the crowded Parapanna Agrahara jail for three days, before being released on bail for 100,000 rupees ($1,548; 拢1,205).

He had spoken out against his arrest, insisting that he was innocent.