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Mother of missing three-year-old Mikaeel Kular charged in connection with death of her son | Mother of missing three-year-old Mikaeel Kular charged in connection with death of her son |
(about 13 hours later) | |
A woman believed to be the mother of missing Mikaeel Kular has been charged in connection with his death after the three-year-old's body was discovered in Fife. | A woman believed to be the mother of missing Mikaeel Kular has been charged in connection with his death after the three-year-old's body was discovered in Fife. |
Police have not named the woman, although it has been widely | |
reported that Rosdeep Kular, the mother of the missing Edinburgh | |
boy, was being questioned by officers after a child's body was | |
discovered in Fife, about 20 miles from his home. | |
The development was announced late on Saturday night by Police | |
Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham, who said: “ | |
During the course of today, the investigation into the | |
disappearance of Mikaeel Kular has continued at pace. | |
"Following formal identification, I can now confirm that a | |
33-year-old woman has been arrested and charged in connection with | |
Mikaeel's death. | |
"The woman is expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on | |
Monday." | |
A major police investigation was launched to trace | |
Mikaeel after he was reported missing from his home in Edinburgh's | |
Ferry Gait Crescent on Thursday. | |
More than 200 members of the public joined police and other | |
agencies in their searches for the youngster in the Drylaw area of | |
the capital on Friday. | |
Officers searching for the three-year-old found remains - which | |
police have now confirmed to be those of Mikaeel - in Kirkcaldy, | |
Fife, shortly before midnight that day. | |
Mr Graham expressed his thanks to all those who aided police in | |
recent days. | |
Around 500 calls were made by the public to a dedicated phone | |
line set up in the wake of Mikaeel's disappearance, he | |
revealed. | |
He said: "I would like to again recognise the overwhelming | |
public assistance that Police Scotland have received during the | |
course of this very complex investigation. This includes his family | |
and friends, with whom our thoughts remain. | |
"Over 200 civilian volunteers joined the search for Mikaeel | |
within the Pennywell, Muirhouse and Silverknowes areas of Edinburgh | |
during adverse weather conditions and cold temperatures. | |
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"In addition, our dedicated number received in excess of 500 | |
calls, with people wishing to provide information to help establish | |
Mikaeel's whereabouts. | |
"I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to you all for your | |
vital support. | |
"My thanks also go to the various external search agencies who | |
provided essential resources, equipment and personnel during this | |
enquiry. Police Scotland is immensely grateful for your | |
contribution. | |
"Inquiries continue, led by the Major Investigation Team of | |
Police Scotland, supported by a range of local and national | |
specialist assets from across the country. I ask that anybody who | |
has any information that they feel would assist the investigation | |
contacts the police." | |
Yesterday afternoon Mikaeel's body was removed from a wooded | |
area behind a property in Dunvegan Avenue, Kirkcaldy. | |
Pandeep Kular, 37, Mikaeel's aunt, sobbed as she told the Sunday People: "We're devastated. I'm with the kids." | Pandeep Kular, 37, Mikaeel's aunt, sobbed as she told the Sunday People: "We're devastated. I'm with the kids." |
Police forensic officers searching woodland behind the house in Kirkcaldy | Police forensic officers searching woodland behind the house in Kirkcaldy |
She said she had not spoken with her sister, | |
saying: "I'm not aware of anything. I'm just with my family in the | |
house. That's all I can say. We've just lost him." | |
Dr Bangarpet Krishnaswamy, who is married to Mikaeel's | |
grandmother, gave an emotional tribute to those who helped search | |
for the little boy, the Sunday Mirror said. | |
He said: "I would like to thank all the public and the police | |
for the search, which sadly turned out to be a futile." | |
Throughout the day, communities in north Edinburgh and Fife | |
gathered to support each other and show how they had been touched | |
by the recent events. | |
Floral tributes, soft toys and candles have been placed at a | |
small park in the Drylaw area, round the corner from the flat where | |
Mikaeel lived on Ferry Gait Crescent. | |
Residents of Dunvegan Avenue, around 25 miles away, spoke of | |
their shock at seeing police activity on their street. | |
Michael Woods, 53, who lives nearby at Floors Place, said he had | |
been following the developing police investigation but was | |
surprised to find officers at the end of his street. | |
"First it was in Edinburgh, then they said Fife, then Kirkcaldy | |
and now it's here almost on my doorstep. It's unsettling," he | |
said. | |
"When I heard it was here I just about jumped off my chair." | "When I heard it was here I just about jumped off my chair." |
People arrive for a memorial service for Mikaeel at Muirhouse St Andrew's Church | People arrive for a memorial service for Mikaeel at Muirhouse St Andrew's Church |
In Edinburgh, around 500 people turned out last | |
night for a memorial service at Muirhouse St Andrew's Church, less | |
than a mile from the home Mikaeel shared with his mother, twin | |
sister and three other siblings. | |
There was a large queue to get into the church well in advance | |
of the service. The crowds ultimately filled the 300-capacity | |
building and an extra overflow room. | |
Men, women and children of all ages attended the memorial | |
gathering. Some very young children clutched soft toys while a | |
handful of people held lanterns. | |
At the end of the gathering, all those who had attended exited | |
carrying the remains of candles they had been holding during the | |
service. | |
Some people hugged each other and a Chinese lantern floated in | |
the sky above the chapel. | |
Attending the service was Akeel Umar. He said: "I think everyone | |
in the community is very sad. Today is an opportunity for everyone | |
to come together on an issue that touches everyone." | |
Nasim Azad added: "We are a community, we care. The fact that | |
we're here today is because we care. It's as simple as that." | |
Also attending the service was Edinburgh Western MSP Colin | |
Keir. | |
He said recent events had shattered the whole area, but also | |
galvanised a sense of community spirit. | |
Additional reporting from PA | Additional reporting from PA |