Campaigners appeal to police watchdog over Mumutaz murder complaint

Police Scotland has ruled out a full review into the handling of the Mumutaz murder investigation, saying it would not be “proportionate” to probe the controversial case in-depth.

This was the response Justice 4 Michael Ross (J4MR) campaigners received, as the force’s professional standards department did not uphold any of the complaints made in the group’s 360-page dossier.

The campaign group submitted the official complaint in June, 2022, alleging there to have been “confirmation bias, media manipulation, gross incompetence and, latterly, corruption” in the investigation into the 1994 murder of Shamsuddin Mahmood.

Now, frustrated by the 14-page response they received, J4MR have appealed to Scotland’s police watchdog.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner is currently assessing the quality of the force’s response.

The news comes almost 30 years after a masked gunman walked into the Mumutaz Indian Restaurant on the evening of June 2, 1994, shooting and killing the 26-year-old Bangladeshi waiter before fleeing the scene.

In 2008, Orkney man Michael Ross was convicted by a jury at Glasgow High Court for the murder, which took place when he was a schoolboy. Ross, now 45, continues to maintain his innocence.

For the full story about the campaign group’s complaint and the response from Police Scotland, pick up this week’s The Orcadian, or check out the online edition.