File photo of Afzal Usmani.
Suspected Indian Mujahideen operative Afzal Usmani has been re-arrested by Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad or ATS more than a month after he escaped from a crowded court in Mumbai on September 20, sources said.
A massive manhunt was on for Usmani who is accused of serial bomb blasts in Gujarat in 2008 that killed 57 and injured nearly 200. He has been remanded to police custody till November 6.
"We nabbed Afzal's nephew Javed on the 25th. Based on his questioning we were informed that Afzal was hiding in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. The ATS team along with Bahraich police succeeded in nabbing him outside the railway station which is on the Indo-Nepal border," Maharashtra ATS chief Rakesh Maria said.
According to the police, after his escape last month, Usmani took a taxi to Sewree in south Mumbai. From there, he went to Dharavi to his nephew Javed. He changed his appearance there, the police said, and boarded a bus to Surat. He then went to Indore, Bhopal and Jabalpur before he reached Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh. Usmani was preparing to escape to Nepal when he was caught.
The 37-year-old suspect had managed to give the cops a slip while he was brought to the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court along with 22 others from Taloja Central Jail in Raigad district to hear the charges against him.
It later emerged that that there were no Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras at the sessions court, which also houses the MCOCA court which tries hardened criminals, including terrorists.
Usmani's arrest in August, 2008 had helped the police in Maharashtra bust the Indian Mujahideen module in the state. The police will now question his relatives who had given him shelter during the past few days.