Meerut (UP), Oct 7 A court here on Wednesday convicted a woman and her alleged lover for her husband's murder, ruling that the two jointly killed him and later tried to pass the death off as a snakebite.
The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on October 16.
According to the prosecution, Amit Kashyap alias Mikky, a resident of Akbarpur Sadat village, was found dead at his house on April 12, 2025.
His family initially suspected that he had died after being bitten by a snake. A snake was found trapped under his body and was caught and kept in a container.
However, snake charmers called to examine the reptile said it had no venom sac beneath its fangs and that the sac had been removed, making it impossible for the snake to have caused the death, the prosecution said.
Suspicion subsequently deepened after injuries were found on Amit's neck and scratch marks resembling those made by fingernails were noticed on his body. The post-mortem examination found that Amit had died of asphyxia and not snakebite, following which police began investigating the case as murder.
During the investigation, police found that Ravita and her neighbour Amardeep were in a relationship. The prosecution said the two strangled Amit and then placed the snake near his body in an attempt to make the death appear to have been caused by a snakebite.
Police filed a charge sheet spanning more than 500 pages, and the prosecution examined over a dozen witnesses.
Additional District Government Counsel Farzana said the post-mortem report and mobile phone call records were among the key pieces of evidence.
She said Ravita and Amardeep continued communicating after Amit's death and spoke more than 70 times over four days. The mobile number used by Amardeep to contact Ravita was registered in the name of one Sonu of Jagriti Vihar. Sonu told the court that he did not use the number and did not know either Ravita or Amardeep, the prosecution said.
Investigators also found that Amardeep had obtained the SIM card in another person's name. More than 500 calls between the two were recorded from the number, the prosecution said.
Police also questioned the person who had allegedly provided the snake, after which Ravita and Amardeep were arrested and sent to jail.
Ravita has remained in custody since her arrest, while Amardeep is currently out on bail. Ravita arrived at the court with her face covered when the verdict was pronounced on Wednesday. The court convicted Ravita and her alleged lover Amardeep in the murder of Amit.
She did not respond when mediapersons tried to speak to her. Amit's mother was present in the court, while no one from the accused's side was present.
The verdict comes against the backdrop of another high-profile 'blue drum' murder case in Meerut involving a wife and her alleged lover. In the Saurabh Rajput murder case, a court has convicted his wife Muskan Rastogi and her alleged lover Sahil Shukla. The prosecution said they killed Saurabh and concealed his body in a blue drum filled with cement.
The court in the Saurabh case is scheduled to pronounce the sentence on October 14.
