Disabled boy’s abuse and murder: Serial sex offender under arrest in Ludhiana.

Ludhiana: A serial sex offender who targets both children and the elderly has been arrested in connection with the sexual assault and murder of a 14-year-old disabled boy whose body was dumped in a forest pond last month.

The 33-year-old suspect, imprisoned previously for raping an elderly woman, was apprehended in Punjab’s Sangrur district following a month-long manhunt that relied heavily on human intelligence due to a total lack of CCTV or digital footprints on the remote crime scene.

Police authorities said on Monday that the boy had vanished on May 6 from near his home located by a forested site. A massive community search had led divers to the teenager’s submerged body the following day.

Police initially registered a case of murder and destruction of evidence on May 7 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Forensic findings later led detectives to add charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

Doraha station house officer has confirmed that the man was convicted of sexually assaulting a 69-year-old woman in 2018. He completed a five-year prison sentence for that offence in 2024 and faces separate charges for physical assault.

The suspect remains in custody as prosecutors compile forensic evidence for trial.