Afzal Usmani, accused of involvement in the 2008 terror blasts in Surat and Ahmedabad, escaped from custody while being taken for a court hearing in Mumbai on Friday, officials said.
He was brought to the court for framing of charges. Usmani was arrested in 2008. He was a key firgure in the bomb blasts that rocked India in the same year.
The incident, which has embarrassed police, took place when seven accused in the case were being brought from Taloja Jail in Raigad district to the sessions Court in south Mumbai.
Mumbai police have launched a manhunt for Usmani, who was accused of arranging vehicles which were used to carry out the terror blasts in Surat and Ahmedabad, the diamond and business capitals respectively, of Gujarat.
He is not a prominent member of Indian Mujahideen but certainly his arrest led to the chain reaction of many high-ranked IM operatives.
—IANS