Suspecting that the Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Afzal Usmani, who had escaped from police custody while being taken to a MCOCA court from jail in Mumbai on Friday, could be hiding in Uttar Pradesh's Mau district, his native place, about 325 kilometers from here, the intelligence sleuths have launched a massive manhunt for him and were keeping a close watch on his possible hideouts in the district.

An alert has also been sounded in the districts on the porous Nepal border as the sleuths think that Usmani may try to sneak into the neighbouring country, according to the sources here.

The police here said that Usmani hails from Dhilai Ferozpur village of Mau district. His three brothers also lived in Mumbai and run their own business, sources said.

“We are keeping a close watch on the possible hideouts,” said a senior district police official.