Ludhiana: Police have launched a localised manhunt and announced a cash reward for a convicted rapist who allegedly murdered a nine-year-old boy days after escaping custody.The Salem Tabri police department offered a ₹20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Ajay Kumar. This resident of Kasabad village was earlier convicted of raping a minor and was serving a sentence at the Ludhiana Borstal Jail when he escaped and committed another crime. The timeline of the failure in custody and the subsequent tragedy has drawn sharp criticism from the victim’s community.On Feb 2, Ajay escaped police custody while being transported to Ludhiana’s civil hospital for a medical examination. On Feb 5, a nine-year-old boy from Ajay’s village was reported missing. Prosecutors allege that Ajay killed the child and dumped his body in nearby bushes that same day. On Feb 7, the child’s body was discovered with his throat slit following an “intensified protest” by the family outside the police station.The victim’s family accused police authorities of gross negligence and jurisdictional “buck-passing”. They claimed that when they first attempted to report the disappearance on Feb 5, officers at the Jodhewal police station had directed them to the Salem Tabri station instead. Formal proceedings were not initiated until Feb 6. “We have been trying to track the accused, but so far, we have no clues,” said inspector Harshveer Singh, station house officer (SHO) at Salem Tabri.While the primary suspect remains at large, police have charged four of Ajay’s associates — Kamal Singh, Arjun Singh, Banke Lal, and Sat Narayan — with harbouring a fugitive.
