In 2013, British national Sarah Groves was found dead with 43 wounds on Kashmir houseboat; 13 years later court has ordered fresh psychiatric assessment of Dutch man accused of her murder

SRINAGAR: A team of doctors is set to re-examine Dutch citizen Richard de Wit, accused of murdering British national Sarah Groves in New Beauty houseboat in Dal Lake in 2013, at Srinagar’s Central Jail on Thursday to assess whether his psychiatric and general medical condition allows him to stand trial.“The present case has remained pending for a considerable period and the progress of the trial has from time to time been impeded due to the reported medical, particularly psychiatric, condition of the accused,” the court of the 2nd Additional Sessions Judge said.The court said that reports received from jail authorities disclosed that the accused has not been cooperating with psychiatric consultations, hospitalisation, medical examinations and the treatment advised by medical professionals.It was also reported that the accused had refused to cooperate with efforts to take him from the jail to an outside medical facility for examination and treatment.“The reported non-cooperation has, therefore, presented a practical impediment to securing the medical assessment necessary for determining the further course of the proceedings,” the court said. The court also said the question requiring consideration was whether, in view of his present psychiatric and general medical condition, the accused was capable of understanding the nature of the judicial proceedings, communicating meaningfully with his counsel and participating in the trial in accordance with law.Such a determination, it said, could not be made solely on the basis of a judicial impression or reports of non-cooperation, but required an objective and independent assessment by qualified medical professionals. The court then directed the Medical Superintendent, government psychiatric diseases hospital, Srinagar, to constitute a competent team of doctors for the fresh and comprehensive examination of the accused in the Central Jail, Srinagar, on October 29 2026.The court said the MS government psychiatric diseases hospital and the superintendent, central jail, Srinagar, should coordinate the necessary arrangements to ensure the presence of the medical team at the specified time. The court said the team should have a specialist in psychiatry, a specialist in general medicine, and specialist or medical practitioner as may be considered necessary in view of the reported condition of the accused,” the Court said, adding the examination within the jail should be conducted in an appropriate setting, with due regard to the dignity, safety and medical interests of the accused.On April 6, 2013, 24-year-old Sarah Groves was found dead inside her room in the New Beauty houseboat in Dal Lake in Srinagar. In the case of murder of Sarah Groves, the police arrested Richard de Wit, that time 43, around 77 kms, from the scene of murder, on the same day, a few hours after the murder. Richard De Wit, son of Handrik Pietor De Wit of Ridder Kerk Netherlands, according to the police chargesheet, was trying to move out from the valley, some hours after committing the murder. He was arrested in the town of Qazigund, around 70 km south of Srinagar. He was in wet clothes and without shoes. He was carrying his passport.Miss Groves had travelled to Srinagar in February that year as she was intending to stay in the valley for some time. De Wit arrived at the guesthouse on April 3, and was staying at the cabin next to Miss Groves. They were the only two tourists staying on the boat. De-Wit, according to the police, had allegedly stabbed Sarah to death. She had around 43 wounds on her body. Afadul Mujtaba, who was then Deputy Inspector General (DIG) police, Central Kashmir range, was first to question the accused had described him “having paranoia and had thought that the Dutch intelligence agencies were after him for his anti-government political beliefs and he had murdered Sarah presuming her as Dutch agent.”Stay updated with the latest Srinagar news. Download the TOI App.