Mumbai: With nearly 20 teams of Mumbai police scouring the metro in search of escaped Indian Mujahideen militant Afzal Usmani, the local crime branch has found cctv footage from cameras outside the court and at Churchgate station revealing the militant escaping in a taxi.
The 40-year-old prisoner was wearing kurta and pyjama and had red henna beard, when he escaped from the MCOCA court number 37 at 3 pm on Friday from the custody of ASI Sanjay Deshmukh. API Ram Chopde was the supervisory officer. Both Chopde and Deshmukh has been suspended by Navi Mumbai police commissioner A K Sharma.
Police and the accused were inside the court from 1 pm till 3 pm. At 3 pm, when ASI Sanjay Deshmukh went inside the court to take their warrants, Afzal Usmani standing outside suddenly vanished.
A combing operation conducted by Mumbai police across South Mumbai till late Friday night yielded nothing. Policemen searched guesthouss, hotels, small lodges, dharamshalas and other buildings in Colaba area in search of the escaped militant.
Railway Police, RPF and GRP in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane have been alerted about Afzal Usmani.
Twenty policemen had come with 16 militants in two jail vans from Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai. Police had brought them in two groups. Ten policemen were with each group of eight accused.
Police is questioning other militant who were with Afzal at the time of being produced in court. They include Sadiq Israr Sheikh, Mohammed Arif Sheikh, Mohammed Zaqir Sheikh, Mohammed Mansoor Perbhoy, Asif Sheikh, Munim Salman Sheikh and Mohammed Akbar Chowdhary.
Usmani fled from the fifth floor of Mumbai sessions court. He has been involved in 2008 Ahmedabad and Surat blasts. In the Ahmedabad blasts alone, 56 persons were killed.
Senior police officers suspect monetary links between Usmani and some policemen.
