Hyderabad, Dec. 3: A Mecca Masjid blast suspect fired upon an unarmed group of policemen who had gone to check out his hideout in the old city this afternoon.

Vicaruddin escaped on a scooter as the policemen, two of them injured, beat a retreat.

The incident comes as a debate is on over Hyderabad’s links with last week’s terrorist attacks on Mumbai.

Following a tip-off from another blast suspect, the constables patrolling the old city were asked to go and check a hardware shop called Tanveer Sanitation, where Vicaruddin and three others were hiding.

When the police reached the spot — at the busy junction of I.S. Sadan and Santoshnagar roads — Vicaruddin opened fire, hitting head constable Rama Raju and constable Mohammed Jaffar. The two are in hospital.

Vicaruddin fled on a scooter and his three aides slipped away in the commotion.

Vicaruddin has been allegedly trained by Pakistan’s ISI and is also believed to have connections with the Students’ Islamic Movement of India.

Hyderabad police commissioner B. Prasada Rao said Vicaruddin had been absconding since the masjid blast on May 18, 2007. He returned to Hyderabad four days ago, sources said.

“His name cropped up during the interrogation of Abdul Jabbar, who was picked up by Kerala police last week,” Rao said.

The incident sparked anti-Pakistan protests led by BJP activists in the old city and counter-demonstrations by minority groups. The police beefed up security and an undeclared curfew was clamped on all thoroughfares in Muslim-dominated areas.