A DUTCH man has confessed to stabbing to death a young British woman holidaying in Kashmir while under the influence of drugs, police said on Sunday (April 7).
Richard De-Wit, 43, told police that he had murdered Sarah Groves, who had been staying on the ‘New Beauty’ houseboat at Dal Lake in the city of Srinagar for two months.
The victim from Manchester had been a regular visitor to the houseboat in Srinagar for three years, the vessel’s owner said.
‘She was like our family member and would often eat with us,’ Abdul Rahim Shoda, the houseboat owner, said. ‘She was like my daughter and my soul is crying.’
Shoda said he discovered the victim ‘lying on the floor, drenched in blood’ several hours after midnight when he got up to do his regular prayers.
‘I just went mad seeing what was in front of me,’ he said.
De-Wit was arrested on Saturday (April 6) as he tried to flee in a taxi near Qazigund, 75 kilometres south of Srinagar, soon after the 24-year-old was found dead in a pool of blood in her houseboat cabin.
‘He has confessed that he committed the murder under the influence of some drug. We have sent his blood sample for testing to ascertain the facts,’ deputy inspector general of police Afadul Mujtaba said.
Police, who have yet to establish a motive for the crime, said they had spoken to De-Wit’s wife in Holland who told them that her husband has had a history of psychiatric problems.
‘His wife told us that he has had such problems in the past and that he had been seeing a psychiatrist as well,’ Mujtaba said.
De-Wit, who had been staying in an adjacent room in the same houseboat as the victim after arriving on Thursday (April 4), broke the latch on her cabin door and tried to escape in a small boat after killing her, police said.
He was carrying only his passport when he was arrested.
Mujtaba said a sexual motive for the crime had not been established.
‘He has denied having sexually assaulted her and so far we have not found any such evidence either,’ Mujtaba said.
‘The investigation is continuing because a mere confession to the police is not admissible in the court. We are trying to find more evidence,’ he added.
UK has offered consular assistance to the family of the woman, saying that it is following up the case with local authorities.
‘We are aware of an incident involving the death of a British national in India. We have offered consular assistance to the family,’ a spokesperson of the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said.
The FCO had only recently eased restrictions on travel to Jammu and Kashmir in its advice to British nationals. Every year, thousands of tourists visit Kashmir, known as the ‘Switzerland of the East’ for its snow-capped mountains, lakes and breathtaking landscapes, many of them staying on numerous brightly decorated houseboats dotting Dal Lake.
