Grooming gang rapist is still on the run after fleeing before the trial

A MAN who was found guilty of grooming and raping young girls in Rochdale is still on the run as an international manhunt continues.

- BY JOSEPH TIMAN

Kasir Bashir, 50, was one of seven men convicted of the sexual exploitation of two teenage girls in the town.

But in January, on the eve of the trial, he disappeared.

Bashir, from Oldham, was found guilty last month, alongside six other men, after the trial was restarted and went ahead in his absence.

Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Bashir, who worked as a market stall holder in Rochdale, repeatedly raped and abused a teenager at a dark, dingy flat in Oldham, and that he was in his mid 20s when he exploited the young and vulnerable girl.

After the trial, Greater Manchester Police announced an international manhunt was underway.

However, he has still not been located.

The Observer can now reveal that it is still not known whether Bashir fled the country or if he's still in the UK.

The Observer understands that Bashir surrendered his passport as part of his bail conditions set by a Crown Court judge before the trial.

This means that, if he has left the country, he will have done so by illegitimate means, making it much harder to track him down.

However, it is possible that he is still in the UK and has not been found despite being on GMP's 'force critical wanted list' since January.