August 24, 2007	Friday	Sha’aban 10, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Aug 23: A proclaimed offender along with his protector escaped police raids twice in as many days, sources said on Thursday.

On a tip off that Abid Hussain, charged with killing one Mohammad Hussain at Darwala on May 13 over a land dispute, was hiding in the house of his brother-in-law Mohammad Mumtaz in Shaer Dhamyal, the Sihala police raided the house at around 4.30am on August 21.

When the police surrounded the house, the accused managed to escape in connivance with his brother-in-law.

However, the police arrested Mumtaz on the charge of sheltering the accused.

The next day, on August 22, the police cordoned off the house of Hussain’s uncle in Darwala at around 5pm, but both the accused and his protector succeeded to escape from the scene.

The sources said scores of raids had been conducted to arrest the accused but every time he managed to escape, raising suspicion that he may have well-wishers in the police department.

Likewise, another proclaimed offender, Rashid, wanted by the Kotli Sattian police also managed to escape during a raid on his hideout in Chara in the jurisdiction of Shahzad Town police by a joint team of Islamabad and Kotli Sattian police.

The sources said he had also succeeded to escape a number of raids by law-enforcement agencies.