After accusations that they did not respond to frantic calls for help made by residents of a society on Ajwa Road following the Tuesday night lynching of Kismat Colony resident Mohammad Rafi Vora, the police have suddenly decided to become more proactive in the case.

Immediately after the incident, an FIR for murder was registered in which a Panigate police inspector was the complainant. A few hours later, the FIR was changed and the prime witness in the case and the brother of the deceased, Haji Vora, was made the complainant instead of the inspector.

This, after an inquiry was conducted throughout Wednesday. The new complaint names 12 people among the accused who were part of a mob of more than 1,000. All the names were provided by the prime witness Haji Vora.

On Thursday, the police conducted combing operations in the Kisanwadi area and Ajwa Road societies near the incident site, and around 25 people were reportedly held for questioning to identify those present in the mob.

‘‘A combing operation was conducted by the Panigate police on Wednesday night during which the offenders who had been named in the FIR were found missing from their residences in Riddhi Siddhi society and Kisanwadi. They probably went underground after learning that their names figured in the murder complaint,’’ said Assistant Commissioner of Police, R J Pargi.

Riddhi Siddhi Society residents refused to identify those named in the complaint and said that on that particular night, the society gates was closed following curfew orders. ‘‘Even the police came asking for some college-going boys from here. We told them all societies here have college-going boys,’’ said an elderly person at Riddhi Siddhi society who wished to remain anonymous.

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