Covid-19 outbreak inside de Wit's jail

Monday 14 September 2020

The trial of the man accused of murdering Guernsey-woman Sarah Groves has ground to a halt, after there was an outbreak of Covid-19 inside the Srinagar District Court and Jail, where Richard de Wit is being held.

Sarah's father Vic Groves said it is not yet known whether de Wit himself has contracted the virus, which continues to spread at an alarming rate across India.

de Wit has been on remand since April 2013, soon after Miss Groves' body was found on a houseboat they were both living in on Lake Dal in Kashmir.

No progress has been made for six months in the now seven-year trial due to the non-appearance of witnesses, security concerns in the region of Kashmir and, more recently, the corona virus.

Pictured: Vic and Kate Groves have been repeatedly blocked in the pursuit of justice for their daughter. 

"There were no court proceedings today due to a significant outbreak of Covid-19 at the Srinagar District Court complex where 30 positive cases were detected in the past two days among court employees," said Mr Groves. "No entry has been allowed since then to the entire lower court complex where a thorough sanitisation programme is under way.

"There is also a reported outbreak inside the Srinagar Central Jail where many prisoners have tested positive - it is not known if the accused, Richard de Wit, is one of them."

India is experiencing record levels of Covid-19 with 90,000 new cases being reported every day.

"The long-term effects on this trial are not known," said Mr Groves. "But the pandemic is clearly out of control to an alarming extent and will almost certainly remain so for some time."