KANPUR, Jan. 22 -- Nearly two-and-a-half years after 16-year-old Kushagra Kanodia was abducted for ransom and murdered, a local court on Thursday sentenced three convicts to life imprisonment. Additional district judge (ADJ-11) Subhash Singh also imposed a fine of Rs.1 lakh on each of them.

Those sentenced include the victim's former tuition teacher, Rachita Vats, aged around 31, her partner Prabhat Shukla, 32, and their associate Shiva Gupta, 32. The court found them guilty of kidnapping for ransom and murder.

However, Kushagra's parents, Manish Kanodia and Sonia, who have since moved to Surat in Gujarat, said the punishment fell short of justice. "Nothing less than the death penalty was acceptable for such a crime," Kushagra's mother ...