French envoy accused of child abuse sent to India jail

Pascal Mazurier does not have diplomatic immunity and will be tried under Indian law

A French official accused of sexually abusing his daughter has been sent to jail for 14 days in the Indian city of Bangalore.

French consular agent Pascal Mazurier was arrested on Tuesday morning and faces charges of rape.

He was produced before a magistrate late Tuesday night amid tight security.

The official was questioned on Friday after his Indian wife alleged he sexually abused their three-year-old. The envoy has made no comment as yet.

India's Foreign Minister SM Krishna said on Wednesday that Mr Mazurier "does not have diplomatic immunity and will be tried as per Indian law".

The French official has been remanded into 14 days' judicial custody and is being held in the crowded Parapanna Agrahara jail, on the outskirts of Bangalore, which houses more than 4,000 convicts and undertrials, police said.

"It's not over. This is just the beginning. Let the trial begin," Mr Mazurier's wife, Suja Jones Mazurier, told The Times of India newspaper.

Mrs Mazurier has written to the French ambassador in India and the Indian government calling for her husband to be prevented from leaving the country until all legal proceedings are complete.

She has also asked the French embassy for financial support for herself and her three children, who are French citizens.