A murdered Fife businessman had indeed been meeting the tenant of the flat where he was shot on Sunday night, it has emerged.
However, local rumours suggesting Mohammed Nadeem Siddique better known as Toby may have gone to the property in Forres Drive with backup, expecting trouble, are believed to be wide of the mark, with little or no evidence as yet to support those claims.
The 38-year-old father-of-three died after being shot in the head by a lone gunman at around 9.25pm on Sunday, before the killer then turned his weapon on another man now being named as 43-year-old Davie Dalgleish and opened fire.
Mr Dalgleish, who is thought to have rented the flat from the Siddique family, was shot as he tried to escape and was injured, although he was released from Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline after treatment.
With the killer still at large, a Fife Constabulary spokesman said the force is still following a number of lines of inquiry, speaking to a number of people who knew Mr Siddique or had dealings with him.
Family members are also said to be “working closely” with the police to identify some sort of motive for the shooting as detectives try to pinpoint exactly what may have happened.
However, as the Siddique family has extensive contacts throughout Fife, Tayside and central Scotland, the nature of the investigation is said to be extremely complex and may take some time.
Police in Fife are working with neighbouring forces in a bid to track down the gunman, amid suggestions that he may have been able to flee Fife shortly after the shooting.
It remains unclear whether or not Mr Siddique knew his killer.Police protectionOfficers are still keen to speak to a man described as being in his 30s, with short brown hair, of stocky build and wearing a dark zip-up top, who was spotted near the block of flats in question around the time of the incident.
Mr Dalgleish, who is a former employee of Mr Siddique, has also been assisting police with their inquiries and is understood to be under police protection.
The whole town of Glenrothes remains in shock at Sunday events, with Mr Siddique’s friends particularly puzzled as to how the gunman knew he would be in the flats in Forres Drive at that time of night.
Residents of the Tanshall area have a mixed opinion of Mr Siddique, with many describing him as “polite,” “having a heart of gold” and “always up for a laugh” this week. However, others referred to him as a “slum landlord” despite not being a registered landlord with Fife Council.
Glenfoyle Properties, fronted by Mr Siddique’s older brother Azam, owns six of the flats in the block at Forres Drive, including the ground-floor property where Mr Siddique was murdered.
Sources have claimed that Mr Siddique himself had a number of business interests, some of which may have been nefarious such as drug dealing, fraud and money lending.
He was jailed four years ago for cheque fraud and served four-and-a-half months of a nine-month prison sentence in Perth.
It is understood that he was attacked when he was behind bars and was badly scarred by another inmate.
Detectives have appealed for anyone with knowledge of the incident to come forward and call police on 0845 600 5702 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.