S Sabaqat
Srinagar, Nov 7 : A local court here recorded statement of second prosecution witness, Adil Ahmad Shoda, son of Abdul Rahim, the owner of the houseboat where the Dutchman allegedly murdered a British woman in April this year.
The Dutchman, Richard de Wit, was present before the court of Principal District and Sessions Judge Srinagar, Mohammad Shafi Khan when Shoda's statement was recorded.As soon as the hearing in the case started, Delhi-based lawyer Shilpi Jain, representing the accused, cross- examined Shoda at length.
After concluding the recording of the statement by Shoda, the court posted the case again on November 25.On July 11, the court directed framing of charges against the 46-year old Dutch, under section 302 for which maximum sentence is either death or life imprisonment. On June 24, the accused was provided English translated copy of the charge-sheet by the prosecution on the directions by the court after an application was moved by him through his lawyer.
In his application, the Dutchman had expressed inability to understand Urdu, the official language of the state in which the charge-sheet and statement of witnesses has been filed before the court.On June 3, police had filed the charge-sheet before a local court here against the Dutch national for murdering 24-year-old British tourist-Sara Elizabeth Rose, daughter of Victor Nojail Rose of Royas, UK-inside the houseboat on the Dal Lake on April 6.
Richard was arrested from the main town Qazigund when he was trying to escape. After filing a case (FIR No. 40/2013) at police station Ram Munshi Bagh, the police found him guilty of the crime and accordingly filed the charge sheet. |
