In a heart-wrenching incident that has shocked the city, a one-year-old boy named Riyans was kidnapped from a creche in Sector 12-A and brutally murdered on Saturday. The Panchkula Police cracked the case within eight hours, arresting the prime suspect, Ajay Rana, an auto-rickshaw driver from Pinjore who was in a relationship with the child’s mother.
The Incident
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The Kidnapping: On Saturday morning (January 24), the child’s mother, Laxmi (a resident of Dera Bassi), dropped her son at the creche in Sector 12-A. Shortly after, Ajay Rana arrived at the facility, posed as the child’s father, and took the toddler away.
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Discovery: When Laxmi returned and found her son missing, she alerted the authorities. A kidnapping case was initially registered at the Sector 14 police station.
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Investigation: Police teams scrutinised CCTV footage from the area, which captured the accused taking the child. This led to the identification and subsequent arrest of Ajay Rana.
The Murder & Motive
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The Confession: During interrogation, Rana confessed to the crime. He revealed that he had met Laxmi through Instagram and was in a relationship with her.
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The Motive: The accused stated that the child’s crying “irritated” him during his meetings with the mother. Driven by resentment, he decided to kill the toddler to “remove the obstacle” from his path.
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The Act: After picking up the child, Rana reportedly strangled him with a cleaning cloth inside his auto-rickshaw. He then stuffed the body into a plastic sack and dumped it under a culvert near the Sukhomajri bypass (Rampur Siudi village).
Police Action
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Recovery: Based on Rana’s disclosure, the police recovered the child’s body and the auto-rickshaw used in the crime.
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Legal Status: The charges have been upgraded to murder. The accused was produced in court on Sunday and remanded to four days of police custody to investigate if others were involved in the conspiracy.
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Official Statement: Panchkula Police Commissioner Shibash Kabiraj condemned the act as one that “shames humanity” and directed the team to ensure the harshest punishment for the accused.
