Inspector questioned about three-hour delay in Groves case
ROBUST questions have been asked in court about why it took three hours for the death of Sarah Groves to be reported to police.
The trial of Richard de Wit, who denies murdering Miss Groves on a houseboat in Kashmir in 2013, continued yesterday.
Witness Inspector Bashir Ahmad, who was closely involved with activities when the police first arrived at the scene of crime, was cross-examined by the recently-appointed counsel for the defence, Advocate Yawar Khan, but this could not be completed due to the lack of available exhibits.
The Groves family’s legal representative said that some robust questions were asked by Advocate Khan relating to how and when a crime was first reported to the police, some three hours after the estimated time of the attack.
The role of the boat owner and his family was also referred to and questioned while the process of seizing and securing exhibits again came under scrutiny.
The absence of relevant exhibits at the hearing was blamed on the serious floods which occurred in September 2014, in which the original court complex and the safe-storage room were inundated.
Mr de Wit again lodged a serious complaint about his personal belongings, including a significant amount of cash, which have never been returned to him, something also been blamed on the floods.
‘For the eventual outcome of this trial to be safe – either way – the recall of the five members of the Shoda family [who owned the houseboat] for second cross-examination is essential,’ a statement from the family said.
‘Some of the events that took place in court today, which referred to the time delay in notifying the police, will hopefully help the process of recall.’
The next hearings have been scheduled for Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 August.
