Kanpur: A 16-year-old son of a Kanpur-based textile businessman, who had gone missing on October 30 was found murdered the following day.
The victim, Kushagra Kanodia, a Class 10 student, left home on Monday at 4 pm for his tuition classes. At around 9 pm, the family received a ransom letter demanding Rs 30 lakhs and ‘Allah hu Akbar‘ written in the middle.
Worried, Kushagra’s family reached out to his tuition teacher Rachita who responded saying she had no idea about the teen’s whereabouts. The family then contacted the police.
Investigations led to the arrest of Rachita, her fiancee Prabhat Shukla and their friend Ankit.
During interrogation, it was revealed that Rachita and Prabhat needed money to get married and settle down. They hatched a plan with Ankit to kidnap and murder Kushagra. The trio were aware of his affluent status. The teen’s father Manish Kanodia is a well-known textile merchant who lives in Acharya Nagar.
The trio murdered the 16-year-old and dumped his body near the Fazalganj police station. On Tuesday, police retrieved Kushagra’s body. Police said that he was hanged to death with a rope.
Speaking to reporters, a senior police officer said that the handwriting in the letter matches Prabhat Shukla’s writing. On being asked about the motive behind mentioning ‘Allah hu Akbar‘ in the ransom letter, police said it was to divert attention. “Only investigations will reveal the real motive,” the police officer said.
