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While the Bangalore police are trying to figure out whether French diplomat Pascal Mazurie accused of raping his daughter has diplomatic immunity, the three-year-old victim is going through an excruciating ordeal, having undergone three medical tests.
Before her mother reported the incident to the police, the victim was taken to the Baptist Hospital for a medical test, which confirmed that she had been raped. A medico-legal case had been registered, following which her mother decided to file a complaint before the High Grounds police station in Bangalore the next day.
The police then insisted that another test be conducted on the girl, who was taken to a government hospital, where she and her mother had to wait with the police team almost the entire day. But her ordeal didn't end here.
She was asked to go through another test to verify whether she had contracted HIV due to the rape. This, say legal experts, is a routine procedure in rape cases.
According to the doctors and her family members, the girl was extremely uncomfortable during the ordeal and was often seen crying.
The mother of the victim has stated that justice will be served only after her husband is tried in a court of law for the shocking incident.
Pramila Nesargi, counsel for the complainant, said, "The laws are often cruel and demand several such tests to bring out the truth. What I fail to understand is that despite so many tests being conducted, why are the doctors hesitant to give the report? The third test was conducted on Saturday. I smell something fishy".
Inquiries at the hospital and at the police station failed to yield an answer to why the test results are not available yet.
While the police claim that they are waiting for the results, the hospital has stated that it takes time to get results for such tests.
According to sources, though the test results are ready, the case has been embroiled in a diplomatic imbroglio, considering the status of the accused.
The police claim that the girl's father had diplomatic immunity while the ministry of external affairs is yet to give any indication to confirm this.
The Bangalore police will need a proper go-ahead from the government before they can continue probing the case. But sources in the police claim that the delay in confirming his status is not preventing them from continuing with the investigation, but may matter when they need to arrest him.
Though a person who enjoys diplomatic immunity cannot be arrested and tried easily in a foreign country, there is an exception when it comes to offences such as rape and murder. Legal experts point out that even a person with diplomatic immunity can be tried in India if non-bailable cases are lodged against him/her, but it can be done only with the consent of the country of origin of the accused person.
According to some speculation, there is a desperate attempt to deport the accused diplomat.
His bank details and other data on the hard disk of his computer had been wiped out before the police could start the investigation. This appears to be highly suspicious, say sources, adding that the police are trying to verify whether the diplomat was involved in spying activities.