Seven have been sentenced, but six remain elusive.

The day after Aftab Ansari and six of his associates were read out the death sentence, some of the spotlight shifted back to the missing six ? including one who had pulled the trigger on the morning of January 22, 2002.

Sadaquat Ali, the pillion-rider who had sprayed the American Center and the policemen guarding it with bullets, heads the list of accused on the run. The gang is said to be shuttling among Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

A Delhi Police team had come closest to Sadaquat while raiding a hideout in Hazaribagh, where his accomplice Sheikh Zahid was killed in the shootout.

Since then, the killer has managed to stay one step ahead of the sleuths. Last heard, he was in Bangladesh.

Details are sketchy and police claim he is involved in ?some shady business? there. He is also said to be a frequent visitor to Pakistan.

?It is not just Sadaquat. We are looking for all the other accused and have recently got in touch with international agencies seeking further information,? elaborated Gyanwant Singh, deputy commissioner of police (detective department).

Sadaquat apart, a fresh hunt has been launched for Hasan Imam from Bihar, Khurram Khaiyam, Niaz and Faiyaz Hussain, and Amir Reza Khan, commander of the Asif Reza Khan Commando Force.

?According to Interpol information, Amir left Dubai for Karachi, where he spent a few months in hiding. He was last learnt to be in Iran. We are in touch with relevant police agencies to trace his whereabouts in Tehran,? said a senior police official probing the American Center case.

If Amir was handling the Calcutta operation under instructions from boss Aftab Ansari, Hasan Imam, a resident of Hazaribagh, was involved in making all the arrangements for the assailants? stay in town.

?He was in charge of the Hazaribagh operation and would take orders directly from Dubai,? said another official about the other missing link.

Khurram Khaiyam, a resident of Calcutta, helped Jamiluddin Nasir, chief facilitator of the Ansari gang?s operations in town, to plan everything to perfection.

The six accused fled to different parts of the country after the January 22 strike and later, when Ansari was detained in Dubai, they slipped out of the country.

Their properties have all been attached, their relatives questioned and detained.