The family of a schoolboy who was abducted and murdered have criticised the failure to reinvestigate their son’s case despite the discovery of new evidence bearing his name.

Vishal Mehrotra was eight years old when he disappeared from West London in 1981. His body was found seven months later in Rogate near Chichester but no one has ever been prosecuted for his murder.

An investigation by the BBC has uncovered new evidence in the case, including a document titled “Vishal” written by a man jailed child sexual offences.

Despite the discovery, the case has only been formally reviewed once in the 42 years since his disappearance, a decision Vishal’s family have called “baffling”.

Speaking on the BBC’s podcast on the case, Suchin Mehrotra, Vishal’s brother, said: “I think we’re owed, as any person would be, a sincere effort so we know that everything that could have been done has been done, whether it’s 42 years ago or now.

“So many opportunities have been presented and they [Sussex Police] continue to do nothing.”

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New material uncovered includes the discovery of the document written by a convicted paedophile. The document was created a year after Vishal’s remains were found.

The convicted paedophile was jailed for 16 years for separate child sexual offences in 1998.

The evidence had been held from another case in the 1990s but was only linked to Vishal’s murder in 2019.

Vishal’s father Vishambar Mehrotra also previously told the BBC that he had “no doubt” that institutional racism played a part in inaction towards the case, an accusation Sussex Police “firmly refutes”.

A police spokesman added that there were no “viable” lines of enquiry to follow up, adding: “Even after more than 40 years, we will continue to take any opportunity to pursue any new lines of enquiry that might lead to justice being obtained for Vishal and his family.

“This is still an open and unresolved investigation and we can assure the public and the family of Vishal that no murder investigation is ever closed unless it is detected.”