Kanpur Teen Murdered Allegedly By Teacher’s Boyfriend. Then A Ransom Note
A 17-year-old boy was allegedly murdered by his teacher’s boyfriend in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur, police said on Tuesday.
The accused even sent a ransom note to the victim’s family to make it appear like a kidnapping. The accused, Prabhat Shukla, was caught after the Class 10 student’s body was found by police at his home.
The police have arrested the boy’s tuition teacher, Rachita, and Prabhat Shukla, her boyfriend. Another man named Aryan has also been arrested.
Sources told India Today that the accused murdered the boy on suspicion that he was in an illicit relationship with his girlfriend.
ACCUSED TRIED TO MISLEAD COPS
The victim was the son of a prominent cloth merchant in Kanpur. His family reported that he left home for coaching classes in the evening on his scooter and did not return.
Later, a person with a cloth covering his face arrived on a scooter at their home and dropped a letter, demanding a ransom of Rs 30 lakh for their son’s safe return.
The letter had “Allah Hu Akbar” written on it and also mentioned “Allah par vishwas rakho” (have faith in Allah). Police have said that the ransom letter was a tactic to divert the investigation.
POLICE RECOVER CCTV FOOTAGE
After investigating CCTV footage, police came to know that the boy willingly accompanied Shukla to a store room. Shukla told the boy that his teacher had called him there.
Narrating the incident, police said that the boy and Shukla can be seen entering the room together.
However, minutes later, Shukla came out of the storeroom, but the boy did not. The accused then changed his clothes and was seen going away on the boy’s scooter, police said.
Meanwhile, Rachita has reportedly confessed to her involvement in the crime and revealed that the handwriting on the ransom letter belonged to Prabhat Shukla, her boyfriend.
It appears that the motive behind the murder was related to the teacher-student relationship. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
AKHILESH YADAV DEMANDS ACTION
Reacting to the incident, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said that it is a very serious matter and strict action should be taken against it.
“In the case of kidnapping and murder of a textile businessman’s son in Kanpur, a conspiracy to demand ransom by linking the crime to a particular community and thereby diverting the attention of the police is a very serious matter,” Akhilesh Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi.
“This kind of trend is extremely dangerous for the country and society, strict action should be taken against it,” he added.