TWO police officers have been disciplined over their response in the continuing mystery over the death of a missing librarian whose body was found in Edinburgh months after going missing from her London home.
The death of Saima Ahmed remains unexplained after her body was discovered in the Scottish capital - 400 miles from her Wembley home - in January, last year.
It has emerged that two unnamed officers with the Metropolitan Police were disciplined following a police watchdog probe over the recording of information in the early stages of the inquiry.
The Metropolitan Police agreed with the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) that there was a case to answer for misconduct involving an unnamed Acting Detective Chief Inspector "for failing to pursue lines of enquiry arising out of Saima's last known sighting or document a rationale for not doing so".
But the chairman of the Met misconduct meeting over his role in the search for Ms Ahmed found two allegations of misconduct not proven.
The remains of Ms Ahmed, 36, were found on Saturday, January 9 at Gogar Mount House, on the edge of Gogarburn Golf Club and fully recovered on Monday January 11.
But with Ms Ahmed having no known links to Scotland and with post-mortem examinations resulting in an "unascertainable" cause of death, the death remains an unsolved puzzle.
Her brother Sadat, who has previously admitted that there was frustration over the getting answers about what happened, said there was still "no progress at all" in the case.
Family members previously claimed that Met officers failed to take the case seriously despite Saima’s disappearance being “totally out of character”.
The IPCC initially notified five officers they were under investigation, two for gross misconduct and three for misconduct, over the way they handled information and conducted the investigation.
The IPCC previously found the initial call handling response was appropriate and officers were sent to visit the family quickly.
But there appeared to have been inconsistencies and omissions in the recording of information at this early stage.
Some relevant details were therefore unavailable to investigators and this affected the investigation and its risk assessments.
According to the IPCC, the two police constables faced "unsatisfactory performance procedures" in relation to the matters and "received management action". The seriousness of the allegation meant they were expected to get additional training or advice, rather than a dismissal.
IPCC commission-delegate Colin Dewar previously stated: "The IPCC investigation into how the Metropolitan Police handled Saima Ahmed's disappearance formed the opinion that, in places, officers may not have met the levels required by their professional standards.
"It is important that improvements are made for future investigations and that the officers will be accountable for their actions."
Ms Ahmed was last seen on August 30 on CCTV, boarding a train at Wembley Central station instead of going to work.
Detectives believe she took further trains to Edinburgh, likely via Hemel Hempstead and Birmingham, although her exact route is not known.
There was an unconfirmed sighting of her at Portobello Beach around the end of August.
Ms Ahmed's family were unaware of any friends or contacts she might have had in the area, or any plans to travel to Scotland. They say they do not believe she had even been north of the border before and do not think she took her own life.
Police Scotland said the investigation remains open and would "urge anyone with information that has yet to contact police to do so immediately".
Detective Chief Inspector Martin MacLean said just after the body's discovery: "I am determined to provide Saima's family with the answers they crave and whilst, at this time, I have no evidence of any criminality, I still do not know why Saima travelled to Edinburgh, where she was intending to visit or whom she planned to meet with.
"I thank those who have helped us thus far, but I believe someone out there will have seen Saima during her time in the city or knows why she visited the capital and I would ask that person, or persons, to contact police immediately.
"In addition, anyone with any further information at all relevant to this ongoing investigation is also asked to get in touch."
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