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BBC Sounds


On 29th July 1981, while the eyes of the world are on London and captivated by the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, an eight-year-old boy disappears on his way home from the celebrations.  Despite a huge police search he is never seen alive again.  Seven months later his partial remains are discovered in a small patch of woodland in rural Sussex, many miles from home.  Forty years on, and despite the emergence of new evidence, no-one has been brought to justice for the abduction and death of Vishal Mehrotra and the police appear to have exhausted all their leads. Then one day, as the world is going into lockdown in 2020, a BBC local reporter receives a secretive message from a person who has worked within the police – they tell him they’ve seen something extraordinary that could blow the case wide open. 

That call sets in motion an epic true story - an astonishing podcast investigation, three years in the making, that has consequences no-one could have imagined.  As the team investigate they track down and question a convicted paedophile, a teacher who fled the UK while being questioned by police in relation to child sexual abuse in the 1990s and has been on the run across the world for over 25 years.  Most shocking of all, the series discovers that a UK police force had been aware for years he’d been at the address and had decided not to try to bring him back - while telling Vishal’s family that he hadn’t been located.

The disappearance of Vishal Mehrotra is a case that haunts our age: a case that has repeatedly fallen through the cracks over 40 years – the cracks of our justice system, of our collective attention, of who we choose to listen to and who we don’t. In this extraordinary podcast series, Vishal’s 30 year old half-brother Suchin Mehrotra and investigative reporter Colin Campbell set out to gather the pieces and try to get answers.  What they uncover takes them deep into the disturbing underworld of what appears to be a completely separate crime - and sends them halfway across the globe in a search for the truth. Alongside a deeply moving personal story about the toll of this tragedy on one family across generations, what also emerges is a picture of all of us and the world we live in now.


Vishal

After the series launches Colin is approached by people who say they have information – things noticed decades before and never forgotten. But 40 years on can these memories push the investigation forward?
 
If you have been affected by child sexual abuse, help and support is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Episode 10: Fresh Leads

Following Colin’s visit the police get involved – and the team receive shocking news. And, as the investigation draws to a close, a tantalising distant memory brings one more suspect into the frame...

If you have been affected by child sexual abuse, help and support is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Presented by Colin Campbell and Suchin Mehrotra
 
Series written and produced by Satiyesh Manoharajah 
 
Episode 9 producer: Jolyon Jenkins
 
Series audio production, sound design and original music: Steve Urquhart
 
Episode sound design and mix: Arlie Adlington
 
Executive producer: Alistair Jackson
 
Archive Producer: Helen Carr
 
Production Co-ordinator: Juliette Harvey
 
Production Manager: Elaina Boateng
 
Production Executive: Laura Jordan-Rowell
 
Creative Director: Georgia Moseley
 
Series Developed by Satiyesh Manoharajah and Colin Campbell
 
Editorial consultants: Jackie Malton and Shaun Keep
 
Legal Advisors: Sarah McColl and Andrew Downey
 
Editorial Policy Advisors: Matthew Eltringham and Kim Barrington
 
Archive from BBC Archive and Fremantle
 
Artwork: Victoria Ford
 
Voice actor: Paula Goldstein
 
Solo Violin performed by Esme Bryden

Additional research: Christian Dametto and Bushra Siddiq
 
A BBC Studios Production

Episode 9: The Man in the Tower

The investigation team make a shocking discovery that sends Colin halfway across the world. It’s a huge gamble for one last shot at the truth – but will he find what he’s looking for?

If you have been affected by child sexual abuse, help and support is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Presented and investigated by Colin Campbell
 
Series written and produced by Satiyesh Manoharajah 
 
Episode producer: Jolyon Jenkins
 
Episode sound design and mix: Arlie Adlington
 
Original music: Steve Urquhart
 
Executive producer: Alistair Jackson
 
A BBC Studios Production

Episode 8: The Fourth Man

Why has Vishal’s case remained unsolved for so many decades? Suchin takes a step back from the investigation to look at the bigger picture. What has brought his family to this point? And what’s really going on?

If you have been affected by child sexual abuse, help and support is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Presented by Suchin Mehrotra
 
Series written and produced by Satiyesh Manoharajah 
 
Audio production, sound design and original music: Steve Urquhart
 
Executive producer Alistair Jackson
 
A BBC Studios Production

Episode 7: The Elephant in the Room

After gathering his evidence Colin goes searching – and comes face to face with a man who has a very big question to answer. And following his investigation the police visit Vishal’s family with news...

If you have been affected by child sexual abuse, help and support is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Presented and investigated by Colin Campbell
 
Series written and produced by Satiyesh Manoharajah 
 
Episode producer: Jolyon Jenkins
 
Episode sound design and mix: Arlie Adlington
 
Original music: Steve Urquhart
 
Executive Producer: Alistair Jackson
 
A BBC Studios Production

Episode 6: The Showdown

Colin meets a witness – and a group of men bravely tell him what happened to them at school 40 years ago when they were boys, in the hope that what they know may help the investigation into Vishal’s disappearance...

If you have been affected by child sexual abuse, help and support is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Presented and investigated by Colin Campbell
 
Series written and produced by Satiyesh Manoharajah 
 
Audio production, sound design and original music: Steve Urquhart
 
Executive Producer: Alistair Jackson
 
A BBC Studios Production

Episode 5: The School

Decades pass without an answer. But in 2020 lightning strikes. A BBC reporter gets a mysterious call – the man says he’s been deep within the police and he’s seen something that might blow the case wide open...

Presented by Suchin Mehrotra and Colin Campbell
 
Series written and produced by Satiyesh Manoharajah 
 
Audio production, sound design and original music: Steve Urquhart
 
Executive producer: Alistair Jackson
 
A BBC Studios Production

Episode 4: The Coincidence

Many miles from home two men make a chance discovery. Vishu gets a call at work, the media descend – and life for this family will never be the same again.

Presented by Suchin Mehrotra
 
Series written and produced by Satiyesh Manoharajah 
 
Audio production, sound design and original music: Steve Urquhart
 
Executive producer: Alistair Jackson
 
A BBC Studios Production

Episode 3: The Woods

A massive search for the missing child swings into action. The police comb London, the TV news appeals for information, the public report sightings - and suspicion falls on his father...

Presented by Suchin Mehrotra
 
Series written and produced by Satiyesh Manoharajah 
 
Audio production, sound design and original music: Steve Urquhart
 
Executive producer: Alistair Jackson
 
A BBC Studios Production

Episode 2: The Search

A young family joins the crowds to celebrate the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in central London. But on the way home one of the children disappears and a nightmare begins.

Presented by Suchin Mehrotra
 
Series written and produced by Satiyesh Manoharajah 
 
Audio production, sound design and original music: Steve Urquhart
 
Executive producer: Alistair Jackson
 
A BBC Studios Production

Episode 7: The Elephant in the Room

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