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It noted PC Lord had been "insensitive" in directly sharing the news their Reel's death with his siblings before telling the parents. It also noted failures to properly secure evidence by Det Supt Moffat, who was admonished following the PCA inquiry. The solicitor for the Reel family, Louise
Christian, was critical of this response as it did not provide detail of the failures, nor outline missed lines of inquiry and she called it "just a public relations exercise". The PCA inquiry was not made public and while Sukhdev Reel was allowed to read it, this was done only on condition she could not discuss it with others. It was later revealed that the inquiry confirmed important CCTV footage was destroyed before being viewed and that the coroner had found that pages from the initial report were missing.
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reported by Reel's friends and family during the course of the investigation or file the missing persons report, and had not asked for an e-fit of the suspects in the racial abuse case. The police returned the clothes Reel was wearing when he died to the family without doing a forensic analysis and when
Sukhdev reported a large tear in his shirt she said they accused her of damaging the clothes. The officer informing the parents of their son's death also informed three of the family's other children in the absence of their parents, when the parents instead would have preferred to inform them separately. Furthermore, an independent
316:
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line of investigation was into Reel's friends, looking for holes in their story of a racially-motivated attack and said "maybe the boys were engaged in a prank with Ricky in the river". Detective Chief
Inspector Sue Hill, who took over the case after Moffat accepted the findings of the PCA inquiry and that mistakes had been made and apologised. However, she agreed with Moffat's belief that Reel's death was accidental, saying: "I have still not found anybody that could take this matter any further and I have tried."
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analysed and a concrete block key to the case was not examined beyond taking photographs. It also shows that the attackers in the incident immediately prior to his disappearance were known to have taken the 281 bus afterwards, yet no further investigation was undertaken which the report said was "a significant omission". The PCA inquiry found the
Metropolitan police had not progressed any other lines of inquiry since 1997, nor had it reviewed Reel's mobile phone data from the period.
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237:'s head of Kingston, Superintendent Peter Lally, stating "There are no suspicious circumstances at all but because of the allegations we have asked the PCA to investigate. I am quite satisfied with police actions on this case." Detective SuperIntendent Bob Moffat, who led the investigation, said there was "bundles of evidence" that Reel had died from an accidental fall into the river.
368:, who had infiltrated political groups. The police called this "collateral intrusion" rather than specific targeting of the family's campaign. Former SDS officer and whistleblower Peter Francis described this as a "half-truth" given the remit of the SDS was to spy on a broad range of activists rather than target individual campaigns.
291:
The jury of the inquest confirmed an open verdict, which had included a statement from Home Office pathologist Dr Ian West which described bruising on Reel's back which "didn’t exclude a fight where a blow or a couple of blows had been landed". Sukhdev Reel claimed this fact contradicted the police's
257:
in
February 1999, found "weaknesses and flaws within the organisational structure and policy" and that PC Penman, PC Lord and Det Supt Moffat had been neglectful in their duties. It confirmed that PC Penman had not logged the racially-motivated incident and a missing person report in a timely manner.
287:
Dr Burton noted that witnesses had told him in court that they and their families had been threatened and pressured not to testify. The three friends with Reel on the evening of the racial attack said they had received death threats, and one had been kidnapped and assaulted on 3 November, the day of
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used parliamentary privilege to make public some parts of the PCA inquiry which had been withheld. This confirmed that the area where Reel was presumed to have fallen into the river was not forensically analysed, that a nearby railing was not searched for fingerprints, no foliage around the area was
240:
Sukhdev and
Balwant Reel, Ricky's parents, accused the police of multiple failures in the course of the case. They said Sukhdev had been shouted at by an operator after a follow up call to request police to their house the day after her son went missing. When trying to file a missing persons report
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that night and contacted local hospitals and police to report him missing. The police informed her that she would need to wait 24 hours to lodge a missing persons report, given Reel's age. The police contacted the three men who had been with Reel that evening and they stated they had been racially
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QC and strongly defended his actions, stating there was "no evidence that there was anyone else associated with her son's death". He criticised the amount of money spent on the additional inquest and inquiry compared to the resources he had to initially investigate. Moffat stated that his initial
371:
Sukhdev Reel responded to this revelation by saying: "We have no idea why they spied on us. We were not doing anything illegal. Our campaign was always peaceful. We are angry and hurt that they breached our human rights and invaded our privacy at a time we were asking them to investigate Ricky’s
245:
or that he was gay. They stated that it was the family who had had to lead on the missing persons search, with little assistance from the police, including the locating of key CCTV evidence from the area. They said the police had failed to properly log either the incident of a racial abuse when
363:
In 2014, Sukhdev Reel was informed by police officers conducting
Operation Herne, an investigation into misconduct in undercover policing, that she had been spied upon inappropriately by police officers during her campaign for justice. She had been subject to ten reports by officers from the
326:
The death of Ricky Reel came within the context of many racially-motivated murders of South Asian men within the
British captital in the 1990s, including Panchadcharam Sahitharan, Navid Sadiq, Rohit Duggal, Ruhullah Aramesh, Sher Singh Sagoo, Fiaz Mirza, Mohan Singh Kullar and Manish Patel.
330:
In 2013, a new witness came forward to Reel's family, saying she had information about a convicted murderer who might be involved in Reel's death. Police dismissed this, noting that the witness was frightened to provide a statement, had learning disabilities and "may not be credible".
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footage. The family passed all information to the police and continued to push them to conduct a search of the stretch of the river Thames near to where he was last seen. Within seven minutes of the police beginning dredging of the river, Reel's body was found.
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The Reel family and local community initiated a search for him over the following days, including producing leaflets, appealing for any witnesses to share information, taking local bus routes, check nearby abandoned buildings and asking for any
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button was undone when his body was recovered. The family repeatedly requested that this be reviewed and accused the investigators of neglect of duty. Due to this pressure, Kingston Police referred the case to the
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assessment that Reel had fallen forward into the river while urinated and later said "there was racism in his disappearance, there was racism in his murder and there was racism in his investigation".
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279:, stating that "there is not enough evidence to reach a conclusion". As part of the inquiry, the initial lead investigator, Bob Moffat (who had since retired), was questioned by
275:
A further inquest into Reel's death occurred in
November 1999. The acting coroner, Dr John Burton, overruled the initial conclusion of accidental death and instead recorded an
1034:
167:, Reel and his friends (all Asian men studying at Brunel) were racially abused in Kingston town centre by a group of young white men, who noticed one of the group's
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was declared instead and witness intimidation was reported. A complaint regarding numerous failures during the course of the police investigation was upheld by the
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go home". There was a violent altercation between the groups, during which time Reel separated from his friends and was not seen thereafter.
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the family hired found Reel's bladder had been full at the time of his death and that a third party was probably involved in his drowning.
224:, which had occurred due to him falling into the river while urinating, and the case was closed. This was based on the fact Reel's trouser
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Reel's mother, Sukhdev, continues to seek justice on the belief that her son was murdered and that police failures have been related to
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A website, "Justice for Ricky Reel", was set up to continue campaigning. A TV documentary was produced by Steven Drew in 2014, called
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442:
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98:, United Kingdom. He was last seen alive in the early morning of 15 October and on 21 October his body was recovered from the
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163:. He and three friends had gone for an evening out drinking at Options night club in Kingston upon Thames on 14 October. A
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304:. The group supported her in a campaign for justice for her son, having been involved with similar cases, including the
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Following the incident, Sukhdev Reel began working with anti-racist charity
Southall Monitoring Group, later known as
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Ricky Reel died after a racist attack 16 years ago. Now his family says a new witness could prove he was murdered
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murder. The resources that they should have spent on investigating Ricky’s murder were spent on spying."
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Reel and his friends were subject to a racially-motivated attack shortly before his death, but the
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965:'The police were spying on me rather than looking for Ricky’s killers' – Sukhdev Reel"
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182:-born Sikh who moved to London in the 1960s and worked as a housing officer for the
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23 Years after Ricky Reel’s Death, His Mother Sukhdev Is Still Fighting for Justice
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117:. Reel's family initiated a campaign for justice which saw this overturned – an
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they claimed an officer told them their son was possibly trying to avoid an
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chose to interview Reel's mother on their first podcast in December 2020.
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728:"Met officers rebuked for their conduct of second race 'murder' inquiry"
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In October 1999, following national coverage on crime television series
179:
125:. It was later also revealed that the Metropolitan Police's undercover
616:"Stephen Lawrence was not the only one: Michael Menson and Ricky Reel"
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411:"Appeal for information on the 1997 death of Ricky Reel in Kingston"
413:. Metropolitan Police (14 October 2022). Retrieved 16 October 2022.
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On the night of his disappearance, Ricky's mother, Sukhdev Reel, a
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885:"New witness claims Thames death student Ricky Reel was murdered"
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Marking 25 years since his death, Sukhdev Reel published at book
491:"London inquest into Asian student's death returns open verdict"
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had spied on Reel's family as a result of their campaigning.
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deemed this as unrelated and initially closed the case as an
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abused and assaulted at the time they had last seen him.
937:"Episode 1: 'A mother died – and a campaigner was born'"
862:"Ricky Reel's family calls for case review 16 years on"
712:"Ricky Reel's family calls for case review 16 years on"
688:"Sukhdev Reel—'If you stand up you become the enemy'"
94:, a 20-year-old British man, died in October 1997 in
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History of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
913:. Justice For Ricky Reel. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
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News Unlimited staff and agencies (8 October 1999),
745:"Ricky Reel HC Deb 20 October 1999 vol 336 cc543-52"
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Law enforcement controversies in the United Kingdom
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Ricky Reel: Police 'spied on dead student's family'
811:"Building from the base, starting from the streets"
785:"Police insist that Reel died in 'tragic accident'"
663:Taylor, Jerome, and Buksh, Ayshea (12 March 2013).
443:"POLICE OFFICERS QUESTIONED OVER THAMES DEATH CASE"
79:
71:
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23:
714:. BBC (13 March 2013). Retrieved 16 October 2022.
186:, was surprised by his failure to return home to
983:. BBC (23 July 2014). Retrieved 16 October 2022.
449:(17 January 1998). Retrieved 16 October 2022.
216:, which Reel visited shortly before his death
8:
253:The outcome of the PCA inquiry, produced by
220:The initial report ruled that Reel's was an
561:"Sukjdev Reel: The killing of my son Ricky"
102:near Down Hall Road, in the town centre of
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1035:October 1997 events in the United Kingdom
809:Nijjar, Jasbinder S. (22 October 2020).
646:Mahamdallie, Hassan (13 November 1999).
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349:Ricky Reel: Silence Is Not An Option
960:Williams, Rachel (27 August 2014).
883:Davenport, Justin (13 March 2013).
534:Kindred, Alahna (14 October 2022).
463:"Drowned student 'afraid of water'"
392:List of solved missing person cases
925:. IMDB. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
521:. Eshe. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
355:, covering her fight for justice.
204:Investigation and police complaint
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767:"Open verdict in Ricky Reel case"
614:Rogers, Simon (29 January 1999).
686:Ringrose, Isabel (9 July 2022).
422:NP, Ullekh (23 September 2022).
233:(PCA) in January 1998, with the
151:near where Reel's body was found
16:1997 death in the United Kingdom
935:Robins, Jon (1 December 2020).
836:"And the racist killings go on"
783:Judd, Terri (6 November 1999).
489:Lee, Keith (20 November 1999).
1030:Missing person cases in London
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517:Kapoor, Aetka (2020-12-08).
267:, Local Member of Parliament
37:Reel shortly before his death
1040:Police misconduct in England
971:. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
773:. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
671:. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
654:. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
430:. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
382:Death of Christopher Kapessa
923:What Happened to Ricky Reel
815:Institute of Race Relations
648:"Jury Verdict Slams Police"
366:Special Demonstration Squad
336:What Happened to Ricky Reel
231:Police Complaints Authority
127:Special Demonstration Squad
123:Police Complaints Authority
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1045:Unsolved deaths in England
1010:Deaths by person in London
1000:1990s missing person cases
589:Sikh PA (13 August 2021).
306:murder of Stephen Lawrence
184:London Borough of Hounslow
171:(Sikh headwear) and said "
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495:World Socialist Web Site
1015:Formerly missing people
387:List of unsolved deaths
149:Kingston Railway Bridge
92:Lakhvinder "Ricky" Reel
465:. BBC. 1 November 1999
364:Metropolitan Police's
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864:. BBC. 13 March 2013
726:(19 February 1999).
424:"Who Killed My Son?"
310:death of Blair Peach
302:The Monitoring Group
104:Kingston upon Thames
50:Kingston upon Thames
235:Metropolitan Police
212:Clarence Street in
111:Metropolitan Police
62:Cause of death
842:. 24 February 1999
338:. Online magazine
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243:arranged marriage
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248:pathologist
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751:16 October
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625:16 October
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571:16 October
545:16 October
500:16 October
469:16 October
398:References
264:Crimewatch
25:Ricky Reel
911:Main page
353:Bookmarks
56:, England
376:See also
308:and the
214:Kingston
180:Nairobi
75:British
169:dastar
134:racism
96:London
54:London
173:Pakis
948:2022
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226:fly
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
