His father believes "that there has been a huge cover up"

The police are reportedly considering re-opening an investigation into the murder of a child more than thirty years ago as speculation grows that the death may be linked to a paedophile ring which included several prominent figures.

Eight year old Vishal Mehrotra lived in Putney when he vanished while out with his sister and nanny on 29th July 1981, (the day of the marriage of Lady Diana and Prince Charles). A few months later his body was found on Sussex marshland. His father says he was contacted by a male prostitute at the time who revealed the boy might have been abducted and murdered at the notorious Elm Guest House in neighbouring Barnes.


8 year old Vishal went missing in July 1981

The house, which is now a private residence remains the subject of Operation Fairbank, an ongoing investigation into allegations of child abuse by prominent British men in the 1970s and 80s. According to The Independent, alleged visitors include a Labour MP, several Tory politicians, judges, and pop stars.

In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Mr. Mehrotra said that a few months after his son went missing, a young man in his 20s got in contact and mentioned the paedophile ring, and the politicians and judges involved. He told The Telegraph he said:"I was contacted by a young man. He told me he believed Vishal may have been taken by paedophiles in the Elm Guest House. He said there were very highly placed people there. He talked about judges and politicians who were abusing little boys. I recorded the whole 15-minute conversation and took it to police. But instead of investigating it, they just pooh-poohed it and I never heard anything about the tape again. The whole thing went cold."

‘At that time I trusted the police. But when nothing happened, I became confused and concerned. Now it is clear to me that there has been a huge cover up. There is no doubt in my mind.’

In February 1982, part of Vishal's body was found in a West Sussex woodland. Police raided the guest house four months after the boy was killed and 30 "prominent men" were questioned at the time. The owners of the Elm Guest House, Carole and Harry Kasir, were fined £1,000 each and given suspended nine-month sentences at the Old Bailey but were found not guilty of running a brothel. Mrs Kasir later admitted to child protection officers that children from the council-run Grafton Close Children’s Home had been taken to the brothel and gave them names of people who had visited the guesthouse. She committed suicide in 1990.

Earlier this month Putney resident, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg talked about the scandal on LBC Radio and said "it is absolutely shocking that survivors of child abuse were not listened to."

Detectives are considering reopening the case, Sussex Police said in a statement:“The investigation has not been re-opened but we spoke last week to Vishal’s father and agreed to carry out a further review to see whether there may be any new investigative opportunities. In carrying out our further review we will of course remain in contact with the Metropolitan Police, with whom we worked closely on the original investigation.”

November 27, 2014