Ludhiana, Feb. 11 -- A convict in a rape case involving a minor girl, who escaped from police custody earlier this month, has been identified as the prime accused in the murder of nine-year-old Aman of Kasabad village, whose body was found in bushes near his house with his throat slit, police said on Monday.

Aman went missing on February 5 and his body was recovered from bushes in Kasabad on February 7. Investigators said the child was killed on the same day he disappeared.

The accused, Ajay Kumar, had fled police custody on February 2 while being taken from Borstal Jail to Ludhiana Civil Hospital for a medical examination. Police suspect that he murdered the child near his residence in the village before going into hiding. He remains a...