RAWALPINDI, Sept 12: Five murder suspects made a dramatic escape from the compound of the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court on Wedn-esday minutes before the court was to pronounce its decision on their interim bail petition.

A police officer said the five bolted while the judge retired to write the judgment, sensing that their petition was going to be rejected.

The officer identified the murder suspect on the run as Fareed Ahmed, Sabir Hussain, Qadeer Ahmed, Taj Mohammad and Abdul Sadiq.

After the incident, the police alerted their men at the city’s exit/entry points and launched a manhunt for the accused.

The suspects were involved in the murders of three under-trial murder suspects and a passer-by.

Since then the entry into the district court premises had been restricted to those who get security clearance.