Pascal gets bail; HC poser to wife

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Pascal Mazurier, Consular Attache to the Consulate General of France in  Bangalore, accused by his wife Suja Jones of raping their three-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

After hearing arguments of  both the parties, Justice H N Nagamohan Das said in the order, “Under the circumstances, it is not  possible to accept the contention of the counsel that the matter is under further investigation. The statements of the witnesses are in favour of Pascal and therefore, the question of him influencing them does not arise. And since the DNA report also is in his favour, the question of him tampering with it does not arise. The investigation is completed and there are no circumstances warranting continuance of him in custody.”

Raising questions in his order, Justice Das said, “According to the complaint lodged on June 14, doctors examined the minor girl on June 5 and submitted a preliminary report on June 6 stating that she was sexually and physically abused. Why didn’t the complainant lodge a complaint immediately? Why did she wait for a second event to happen on June 13?”

The judge also noted that there were no eyewitnesses to the incident. “According to the complaint, the girl had said the petitioner had hurt her. Thus, the victim is capable of speaking and still her statement has not been recorded. Statements by the workers in the  house do not specify that the petitioner committed the offence. The statement given by the complainant is also vague, not definite and  clear,” the judge said.

Pascal  was granted bail on a personal bond of `1 lakh with two local solvent sureties of a like sum.

 He must surrender his passport  and must not leave the jurisdiction of the court without prior permission from the jurisdictional magistrate. Further, he must appear before the court for every hearing and should not influence the prosecution witnesses.

 Violation of any one of the conditions will result in cancellation of his bail order, the court added.

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