The case of the “Putney Pusher” has soared back into the news after police arrested a man on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm.
The 44-year-old millionaire banker was arrested on Monday at his £1.4 million west London home.
He was later re-arrested on suspicion of possession of Class A and Class B drugs and has been bailed until September.
But many questions remain to be answered over the incident on May 5 2017 when a jogger seemingly shoved a woman into the path of a double decker bus in London.
They include:
Why the “shove”?
This is possibly the biggest mystery in the case and why it became such a notorious incident which shocked London.
The woman, aged 33, was coming across Putney Bridge on the pedestrian path southwards and did not particularly appear to be in the way of the jogger.
Even if she was, the apparent shove, which pushed the victim head-first into a bus lane, seems very hard to explain.
Why was he not stopped at the time?
Bus driver Olivier Salbris, on the 430 route, managed to swerve to avoid hitting the woman by inches as she lay on the ground.
A passenger then got off the bus, which Mr Salbris had stopped, and the woman reportedly asked: “Why me?”
Around 15 minutes later, the jogger came back across the bridge which raises the question why he was not stopped then, especially as the victim reportedly called out to challenge the man over his startling behaviour.
But given that it was such an unusual incident, and the fact that the man was still running, it is not surprising that members of the public did not have time to intervene to stop him and call the police.
Why was the man not caught in the following months?
This is another puzzling aspect of the case as the incident happened in rush hour at 7.40am in the morning in a busy part of London.
Hundreds of people must have seen the jogger as he ran over Putney Bridge and later came back across it.
There is also CCTV footage of the incident.
While the man is not easily identifiable, the images are clear and led to a number of calls to the police about who he may be.
But police were unable to gather sufficient evidence to bring any charges.
Why has the case suddenly been re-opened?
The Met Police looked at more than 50 “persons of interest” and made a number of arrests including an American investment banker, aged 41, living in Chelsea, west London.
He was cleared of involvement as his lawyers proved he was on holiday in California at the time of the incident.
At the end of June, 2018, police closed the case as the trail was running cold.
But it was re-opened and the arrest on Monday suggests that Scotland Yard has been given, or found, new evidence as to the possible identify of the “Putney Pusher”.
Why has the man not been charged?
The banker arrested on Monday has been bailed until September.
But Scotland Yard has made clear that its investigation is continuing into the alleged shove and suspected drug offences.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Met said: “On Monday, 15 June, a 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm.
“The arrest relates to an incident on 5 May 2017, where a woman was pushed into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge in Putney.
“Once in police custody, he was also arrested on suspicion of possession of Class A and Class B drugs.
“He has since been bailed pending further investigation in relation to all offences.
“Enquiries continue.”
Putney MP Fleur Anderson has praised the Met for not giving up on the case.
