The Uttar Pradesh government Wednesday announced a reward of Rs one lakh each for anyone providing information leading to the arrest of the two Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists who fled from police custody from a district court on Tuesday, as a massive manhunt continued for them.

Several teams have been formed and dispatched to different locations and the photographs of the two have also been circulated and pasted at various places, police said.

The two LeT militants, Maksood Ahmed and Sayed, who were arrested in March 2002 on charges of conspiring to attack the disputed site at Ayodhya, were lodged in the district jail and were brought to the court in connection with hearing of the matter.

Maksood had already been sentenced to death by a Delhi court for attacking a CRPF camp in 2001. An AK-47 rifle, three magazines, some live cartridges, explosives and timer devices were recovered from the duo at the time of their arrest.

It was believed that some outsider had provided them pistols when the duo had gone to toilet, police sources said adding the terrorists made good their escape by pointing the firearms at the escorting police personnel.

The three police personnel who were escorting the duo had been suspended and arrested on charges of negligence and laxity, the sources said. They said the LeT men might still be in the state capital and added that a strict watch was being kept at all exit points.