In a shocking incident on Saturday, a one-year-old boy was kidnapped from a creche in Sector 12A and subsequently murdered by a Pinjore resident. Acting swiftly, the Panchkula police cracked the case within eight hours, arresting the prime suspect. The arrested accused has been identified as Ajay Rana.
Investigations revealed that Rana was in a relationship with the child’s mother and allegedly killed the toddler because the boy’s crying “bothered” him during their meetings. Based on his confession, the police recovered the child’s body hidden in a plastic bag beneath a culvert near the Sukhomajri bypass.
The incident came to light on Saturday morning after the victim’s mother, a resident of Mubarakpur, Dera Bassi, dropped her son at the creche. Shortly after, the accused arrived at the facility, posing as the child’s father, and took him away. When the mother discovered her son was missing, she immediately alerted the authorities. Police scrutinised CCTV footage from the vicinity, which captured the accused taking the toddler. Following the identification, a manhunt was launched, leading to Rana’s arrest.
During interrogation, Rana initially attempted to mislead investigators but eventually confessed to the gruesome crime. He revealed that he had met the mother through Instagram and had grown resentful of the child. Driven by this animosity, he plotted to “remove the child from his path.” On the day of the incident, he transported the toddler in his auto-rickshaw and strangled him with a cleaning cloth. He then stuffed the body into a plastic sack and dumped it near Rampur Siudi village.
{{/usCountry}}During interrogation, Rana initially attempted to mislead investigators but eventually confessed to the gruesome crime. He revealed that he had met the mother through Instagram and had grown resentful of the child. Driven by this animosity, he plotted to “remove the child from his path.” On the day of the incident, he transported the toddler in his auto-rickshaw and strangled him with a cleaning cloth. He then stuffed the body into a plastic sack and dumped it near Rampur Siudi village.
{{/usCountry}}While a kidnapping case was initially registered at the Sector 14 police station, murder charges were added following the discovery of the body. ACP (crime) Arvind Kamboj confirmed that the police have recovered the auto-rickshaw used in the crime. The accused was produced in court on Sunday, where the police secured a four-day remand to investigate if any other individuals were involved in the conspiracy. The child’s body was sent to Sector 6 civil hospital for a post-mortem examination.