Parents of Sarah Groves to meet with UK Minister

The parents of a Guernsey woman who was killed in India in 2013 will meet with a UK Minister to voice their concerns over the trial of the man accused of killing her.

The body of 24-year-old Sarah was found on a houseboat in Kashmir in April 2013. Dutchman Richard de Wit is on trial charged with her murder.

In February Sarah's parents Vic and Kate Groves launched a petition urging the UK government to lodge a complaint about the way in which her daughter's trial has been handled.

The UK Foreign Office has now arranged for them to meet with Mark Field, the Minister responsible for Asia Pacific Affairs on April 25th.

The trial in India had its 115th hearing today and made little progress due to a lawyers strike and witnesses failing to show. It has been plagued by delays and inconsistencies since it begun.

However, due to Vic and Kate's determination, in the past two weeks the Guernsey Minister for External Affairs Jonathan Le Tocq held a meeting in London with the High Commissioner for India who has said he will raise the profile of the case.

The UK's Deputy High Commissioner has met with the Governor of the State of Jammu & Kashmir and discussed the case, Sarah's parents hope this official contact will help to get the trial back on track.

Letters have also been written to the judge and copies sent to all senior legal and political figures in the region questing specific improvements and the recall of key witnesses for second cross-examination.

Vic and Kate hope their efforts will see an improvement on how the trial is handled at the next hearing on April 11th.