Jeep turns turtle, cops faint, POTA accused slips away

Intriguingly, the policemen seemed to suffer no external injuries and were discharged after first aid while the driver has been readmitted to a local hospital after he complained of chest pain.

Yunus was one of the four accused in the Ghatkopar blasts on December 2 that killed two and injured 51.

Ahmednagar’s Additional Superintendent of Police R.M. Katake said the police party escorting Sayeed — sub-inspector Waje, police naik Rajendra Tiwari, constable Sunil Desai and driver Rajaram Nikam — left Mumbai around 10.30 pm on Monday. All the policemen were armed. Katake said Waje had told him that Sayeed had been handcuffed and a rope tied to the handcuffs had been fastened to a rod supporting the jeep’s roof. The party had dinner at Lonavla after midnight and had proceeded towards Aurangabad.

‘‘The milestone had been dislodged and the jeep lay about 10 feet off the road in a trench. A hacksaw blade was recovered from the accident spot. We are yet to find out how the hacksaw blade reached there,’’ police said.

‘‘We combed the entire area and carried out a nakabandi. However, Sayeed could not be traced,’’ Katake said.

Maharashtra’s Director General of Police Subhash Malhotra told The Indian Express that all the district police headquarters in Nashik, Aurangabad and Kolhapur ranges as well as Pune and Aurangabad commissionerates have been asked to carry out search operations for Sayeed. Two inspectors from Mumbai police crime branch have reached Ahmednagar.

While a fresh case has been filed against Sayeed at Parner police station in Ahmednagar district, deputy superintendent of police M M Beldar has been ordered to carry out a departmental inquiry into the entire episode.