KANPUR, Jan. 21 -- A court on Tuesday convicted three people, including a private tutor, in the kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Kushagra Kanodia, a Class 10 student who was abducted while going to his coaching class in October 2023, a crime that triggered widespread outrage in the city. The court will announce the sentence on January 22, with the family seeking the death penalty. Additional district judge (ADJ-11) Subhash Singh found tuition teacher Rachita Vats, her partner Prabhat Shukla and his friend Aryan alias Shiva Gupta guilty of murder and criminal conspiracy. Kushagra, a Class 10 student at a private school, was abducted and killed on October 30, 2023, while heading to coaching classes. He was the son of Manish Kanodia, a cloth merchant in Acharya Nagar. According to additional district government counsel (ADGC) Bhaskar Mishra, Kushagra left home around 4 pm on his scooter for coaching. En route, he was allegedly intercepted by Prabhat Shukla, who was in a relationship with Kushagra's tutor, Rachita Vats. Prabhat allegedly lured the teenager to his house in Indrakuti Hata in Omandar locality. Investigators told the court that Prabhat walked ahead while Kushagra followed on his scooter, wearing a helmet. Kushagra was taken into a store-like room near the house, where Rachita was already present. The prosecution alleged Prabhat strangled Kushagra to death inside the room while Aryan stood guard outside. After the killing, Prabhat and Aryan went to Kushagra's residence on Rachita's scooter and threw a ransom note demanding Rs 30 lakh. In an attempt to give the crime a communal angle, the note also contained a religious phrase. The scooter's number plate had been tampered with, but the apartment's security guard, Rajendra, grew suspicious and later identified it. Acting on the guard's information, Kushagra's family reached Rachita's house. A subsequent police search at Indrakuti Hata led to the recovery of Kushagra's body from the room outside Prabhat's house. During questioning, Rachita told police she wanted to marry Prabhat and that the kidnapping had been planned due to financial needs. All three accused were arrested soon after the incident and sent to jail. On March 31, 2024, police also invoked the Gangster Act against them, naming Prabhat as the gang leader. The murder devastated the family, which migrated to Surat. Kushagra's mother, Sonia, father, Manish and uncle Sumit came all the way from Surat and were present in the courtroom on Tuesday. Breaking down after the verdict, Sonia demanded that the convicts be hanged, saying the crime of the teacher and her partners was unforgivable. The trial was conducted in the court of ADJ-11. The prosecution examined 14 witnesses, and final arguments were heard on January 13. Relying on the chain of evidence and witness testimonies, the court found all three accused guilty....