Mumbai police hunt for escaped terror suspect Afzal Usmani in India

GlobalPost

Police in Mumbai are searching for a terror suspect after he reportedly escaped from court on Friday while on trial for his alleged part in an attack five years ago.

Police claim Afzal Usmani vanished after he was taken from Taloja Jail in Raigad district to court in Mumbai.

It's unclear how he escaped, and authorities have not yet released much information on the incident.

Almost 50 people died on July 26, 2008, when 20 explosions struck the city of Ahmedabad in the Indian state of Gujarat. The day after more than 20 defused bombs were found in the city of Surat.

In September that same year Usmani was arrested along with four other suspected members of the Indian Mujahideen, an Islamist militant group based in India. 

"He has escaped. The police, everybody is looking for him," Mumbai's anti-terror squad chief Rakesh Maria told Agence France-Presse.

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