Five officers face probe over missing woman found dead
Inquiry launched on anniversary of day she travelled to Edinburgh
FIVE Metropolitan Police officers are being investigated for alleged misconduct over the search for a missing London librarian whose body was found near a golf course in Edinburgh.
The police’s professional standards body has launched an independent inquiry following claims that Saima Ahmed’s disappearance one year ago was not taken seriously enough at first by Met officers.
Two of the force’s officers have been served with notices for alleged gross misconduct and three officers for misconduct in relation to the inquiry’s conduct and how information and lines of inquiry were handled.
Ms Ahmed, 36, disappeared from her home in Wembley, London, on August 30 before travelling about 400 miles by train to the Scottish capital. Her remains were discovered at Mount Gogar House, next to Gogarburn golf course, in January.
The cause of her death is not yet known. Her brother Sadat returned to the spot yesterday to appeal for information about the events leading up to her death.
Details of two unconfirmed sightings of Ms Ahmed shortly before her body was found have now emerged.
One was on a Sunday evening, while the other was at about 10.30am on the following Monday or Tuesday by a dog walker on Portobello Beach.
Mr Ahmed said: “She was a very loving and caring person.
“We were a very close family and she would do anything for anyone.
“We’ve been struggling since, it’s been difficult without having any answers and it’s been difficult to find closure and move on.
“Both the Scottish and the Met Police are doing everything they can and there has been quite a large media appeal today, and hopefully from that someone will come forward.”
Detective Chief Inspector Martin MacLean said the latest appeal was launched “on the exact one-year anniversary since Saima Ahmed went missing from her home address in the Wembley area”.
‘‘ We’ve been struggling since, it’s been difficult without having any answers and it’s been difficult to find closure
He added: “We have been refreshing the media appeal again today with some co-ordinated activity in Edinburgh, London and at train stations where we believe Saima travelled at this time last year.
“Saima’s cause of death remains unascertainable, which was the verdict of the post-mortem.
“It’s been very difficult for Sadat and his family.
“We still don’t know definitively why Saima came to Edinburgh at this time last year.”
It was also revealed there have been two unconfirmed sightings of Ms Ahmed in Portobello around the time when she went missing.
Mr MacLean said: “The sightings in Portobello are unconfirmed but they seem to make sense and we now have two.”
Ms Ahmed’s family initially complained the missing person’s inquiry was not taken seriously despite her disappearance being “out of character”.
The police’s Directorate of Professional Standards has referred the force’s handling of the inquiry to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) watchdog, along with a complaint from Ms Ahmed’s family.
She was reported missing in August 2015 by her family, who say they have no idea why she would have travelled to Edinburgh.
The IPCC confirmed two Met officers had been notified they were under investigation for gross misconduct and three officers had been served notices for misconduct.
The investigations are in relation to the conduct of the investigation and how information and lines of inquiry were handled by the officers involved.
The IPCC stressed the notices on the police officers did not imply guilt.