VEHARI, Oct 24: The main accused in Sarwar Mai case of Mailsi, landlord Jahangir Tareen, made good his escape when police raided his hideout in Goth Shah Muhammad, Bahawalpur district, on Wednesday night.

Sources told Dawn on Thursday that Mailsi police raided accused Jahangir’s hideout in the Bahawalpur suburbs on a tip-off, but he escaped. However, police arrested one of the punchayat members, Allah Ditta, and his two relatives Ameer Khan and Allah Wasaya for sheltering the accused.

They said the landlord had shifted his family to Multan from Mailsi.

They claimed that the landlord fled before the raid as he was informed by some police officials. However, Sadar police station SHO Qazi Basit denied the allegation.

Meanwhile, Allah Ditta admitted that the punchayat on the order of Jahangir Tareen shaved off the head and eyebrows of Sarwar Mai, blackened her face and dragged her half-naked in the streets due to her loose morals.

It is learnt that accused Iqbal, Asghar, Munshi Yasin and barber Allah Rakha who shaved Sarwar’s head got pre-arrest bail from a local court till Oct 31.