Telangana Police gunned down five terror accused as they tried to escape the police custody in Warangal on Tuesday.

The accused tried to escape while being taken from Warangal to Hyderabad for a court hearing. The incident occurred when between Aler and Jangaon, about 80 kms from Nalgonda.

The five accused Viqaruddin Ahmed and his four associates, Syed Amjed, Izhar Khan, Mohammed Haneef and Mohammed Zakir who were allegedly involved in the killing of two policemen and were arrested in 2010 after a series of attacks on police in Hyderabad and were lodged in Warangal Central Jail.

They were the members of Tehreek Ghalaba E Islam, an extremist organisation. Reports also suggest that the gang had earlier plotted to attack prime minister Narendra Modi as well.

Viqaruddin also had alleged links with the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and Students Islamic Movement of India. (SIMI).

READ: 20 red sander smugglers killed in a police encounter in Andhra Pradesh

At least 20 red sander smugglers were killed in two gunfights with police in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday.

Police officials said that the 20 hired by red-sander smugglers were killed in the encounter with the STF in Seshachalam hill ranges near Tirupati in the wee hours of Tuesday. The bodies were strewn all over the encounter spot.

This is the highest death toll in a single encounter in the history of red-sanders smuggling. While 11 persons were killed in Cheekatikona, nine more died in Eethagunta, both deep in the forest, around 10 k.m. from the nearest human habitation.

At the end of the operation lasting for several hours, 20 persons were found dead. While confirming the number of deaths, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Special Task Force) M. Kantha Rao sought more time to verify the criminal antecedents of the dead.

According to police, the smugglers had hired twenty woodcutters/coolies for the tree felling job. The Special Task Force members, who were engaged in combing operations in Srinivasa Mangapuram, Srivarimettu and Eethagunta areas of Chandragiri Mandal abutting the
Tirumala hills since Monday, found more than 100 woodcutters engaged in the task of felling trees. The policemen asked them to surrender, but the woodcutters hailing from Tiruvannamalai and Salem districts of Tamil Nadu rained stones and hurled sickles at them, forcing the STF to open fire in self-defence.