Reprimand for police officers

Ten officers had the case against them dismissed

Two police officers have been reprimanded over the death of an 18-year-old man.

Sajjad Mahmood, from Accrington in Lancashire, was reported missing by his mother on 23 March, 1998.

His mother, Nighat Mahmood, told officers her son had been assaulted and his body dumped in a lake - but it was a further eight days before his body was discovered in Haggs Lodge lake.

At the end of a five-week internal disciplinary hearing, two officers were found guilty of neglect of duty and incivility respectively.

Informal advice

The hearing, chaired by Lancashire Police Chief Constable Pauline Claire, dismissed a charge of falsehood and prevarication against one officer and one charge of neglect of duty against the other, a force spokesman said.

The case against 10 other officers was dismissed at the end of the first week of the hearings. A further six officers were given informal words of advice before the hearing.

Following Mr Mahmood's death, one man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for manslaughter and drugs charges while two others were jailed for grievous bodily harm.

After the trial, the Police Complaints Authority carried out an investigation into the handling of Mr Mahmood's disappearance and examined the inquiry into his killing, leading to the reprimands.