Mumbai, September 20
In a major embarrassment to the Mumbai police, Afzal Usmani, accused of setting up several modules of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) terror organisation in different parts of the country, escaped from the sessions court premises.

What is more shocking is that Usmani may have been missing for nearly an hour before anyone noticed, police sources said. According to police, Usmani along with 22 others were brought from the Taloja jail on the outskirts of Mumbai to attend the hearing at the Sessions Court in South Mumbai.

The escorts accompanying the group have told police that they could not find Usmani after the court reassembled after the lunch break at around 2.30 pm. The entire group was herded around the court premises before the court was to reassemble after the lunch break. The police say he may have slipped into a corridor unnoticed and fled the court premises.

Police feel Usmani may have slipped away unnoticed and melted away in the crowd. Later, the sessions court issued an arrest warrant against Usmani. Incidentally, Usmani had attempted to flee jail following his arrest in late 2008. However his escape bid was foiled, police sources say.

In the past, Usmani, a car thief originally hailing from Madhya Pradesh, had managed to escape from police custody. An embarrassed police department has begun an inquiry with several senior police officers tasked with protecting the terror suspects being questioned.