EXCLUSIVE: Probe to find missing evidence from 1994 Orkney murder hunt

Police are on the hunt for evidence which went missing from the 1994 Kirkwall murder investigation, The Orcadian can reveal.

Almost 60 documents from the probe into the killing of Shamsuddin Mahmood were thought to have been lost.

It has now emerged that most of the items have been found by Police Scotland, but the search continues for eight which have not yet been recovered.

The force is carrying out a review on whether it should report itself to the data protection watchdog over the handling of the files.

It is just the latest twist in the notorious murder case which, over 30 years on, remains the subject of unanswered questions.

Recent interest in the crime saw Amazon Prime air a feature-length documentary, The Orkney Assassin: Murder in the Isles, last year. This was followed by a three-part series on BBC Scotland.

It was on the evening of June 2, 1994, that Mr Mahmood was killed by a masked gunman as he worked at Kirkwall’s Mumutaz Indian Restaurant.

In 2008, Michael Ross, a teenager at the time of the murder, was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow for killing the Bangladeshi waiter.

The former Black Watch sergeant maintains his innocence. After two failed appeal bids, a new review into his conviction was announced last month.

It was in February that The Orcadian revealed the discrepancies in the case files, using a response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

Police Scotland told the newspaper that 59 records from the controversial Northern Constabulary investigation had gone missing. It also said 12 exhibits — physical pieces of evidence — could not be traced.

It has now emerged that, in the months since our story, officers have made efforts to find these items.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Following enquiries the majority of the documents and productions have been recovered, and work remains ongoing to recover the outstanding eight.”

After our article in February, Jamie Halcro-Johnston, then a Highlands and Islands MSP, questioned the force about the missing material from the case.

Six months after his letter — which was followed-up by Liam McArthur MSP — Police Scotland has responded.

Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs said that, since the response to our FOl request, further information has come to light.

He stated: “This information related to the last known movements of documents and productions in this case, and no information being available that provided any confirmed return to Police Scotland’s possession following the 2008 trial.

“With the assistance of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), it was established that a number of records were held in their national archives which have since been searched, which confirms that the total number of missing documents and productions are now only eight.”

ACC Mairs said that, following advice, no report has been sent to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

The ICO is the watchdog that upholds data protection and information laws.

Police Scotland is carrying out an internal review on whether it should refer itself to the commissioner.

The force will not provide details about the items which remain missing.

It previously said that this would constitute personal data and sensitive information from the criminal investigation.