The law is catching up with the former Indian cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, against whom a first information report has been registered for allegedly killing a black buck and two hare in Haryana in the first week of June during a shooting expedition.

A team from the Jhajhar police station, where the FIR against Pataudi and seven others has been registered under various provisions of Wild Life Act, seized Pataudi's vehicle on Tuesday from his residence in Vasant Vihar.

"We have made a substantial progress in the cases registered against him. We have seized his Maruti [Get Quote] Gypsy. We are still looking for a Honda Accord, the vehicle used in the crime. We have given time till June 10 to all the accused persons to appear before the Station House Officer Summit Kumar, who is investigating the case, before 1700 IST and record their statements.

"If the accused persons do not take advantage of this opportunity, then we would conduct raids to arrest them," Hanif Qureshi, superintendent of police, Jhajhar, told rediff.com on phone on Wednesday morning.

He denied that the police was lending a helping hand to the former Indian captain and trying to bail him out.

"That time has already gone and we are thoroughly investigating the case. We have already arrested Madan Singh, a local man who scouted Pataudi and his friends and helped them in the shooting incident. He has admitted that it was a bullet fired by Pataudi, which injured the black buck. The injured animal was killed by his Khansama," the officer said.

The police had seized a .22 bore rifle and a double-barrelled gun from the vehicle of Pataudi. " We have sent the bullet and the two weapons for forensic examination and also have requested for an early examination and report," he said.