Murder accused Mohammed Saahab escaped from Pirbhore police station on Saturday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Jan. 29: Family members of Mohammed Saahab, a murder accused who escaped from police custody, claimed today that he might have been killed in a fake encounter. Police denied the accusation and stuck to their statement that he fled yesterday.

The cops also conducted more than 100 raids in hotels and lodges in the city to re-capture Saahab.

The 21-year-old murder accused escaped from Pirbhore police station yesterday afternoon. Since then, the cops have raided more than 100 places under Pirbhore, Alamganj, Khajekala and Gandhi Maidan police stations.

His family, however, fears that the police may have killed Saahab in a fake encounter. They had also planned to stage a protest in front of the Pirbhore police station this morning but it was called off at the last minute. A relative, on condition of anonymity, said: “We fear police may have killed him in a fake encounter. They have cooked up the false story of Saahab’s escape.”

City superintendent of police Kim said: “Such accusations are baseless.”

Earlier this year, the state government had ordered a high-level inquiry into the circumstances leading to the death of 25-year-old Manoj Kumar Yadav of Nawada, whose body was found four days after he was allegedly taken into police custody for interrogation in connection with a murder case.

Saahab had been arrested last morning as a suspect in the murder case of 21-year-old student Mohammed Kaamal. Sources said he was not confined in the lock-up of Pirbhore police station but made to wait on a bench in front of the station house officer’s chamber. Around 2pm, Saahab asked for permission to relive himself.

Though there is a lavatory in the police station, he was asked to go out to answer the call of nature. There were 14 police personnel at the station but no one accompanied him. There were no policemen outside either. Saahab did not return to the police station.

Sources said this is the first time that an accused has escaped from a police station, though criminals have earlier managed to escape on their way to hospitals or courts. Kim said: “This is a case of negligence. For this, we have suspended seven personnel.”

Family members of another accused in the case, Pinku Kumar, today assembled in front of Pirbhore police station. They claimed that Pinku — arrested along with Saahab — is a minor and innocent. His relative Rambalav Kumar said: “Pinku is minor. He has been falsely implicated by the police in the case.”

However, Kim said that Pinku was around 21. “He has confessed that he took part in the murder of Kaamal,” said Kim.

Kamaal went missing from Golakpur area of Pirbhore on January 22. A missing complaint was lodged at Pirbhore police station the next day. Police claim Saahab and Pinku, along with a few others, killed Kaamal and disposed of his body in the Ganga. The body is yet to be recovered.