A woman and her lover have been arrested in Meerut in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on charges of killing her husband via snakebite in an attempt to make his death look accidental.
The victim, Atul Panwar, who co-ran Krishna Kids Play School in Hastinapur with his wife Damini, was found dead in his bed. Panwar and Damini had married in 2019 and lived in Hastinapur, Indian press has reported.
The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Meerut has confirmed that Damini was allegedly in a relationship with the school’s driver Tushar alias Nikki. Police claim that the two had first attempted to kill Atul by staging a road accident, however, after that plan failed, the duo devised another plot, conspiring with two others to carry out the killing.
Damini allegedly mixed sleeping pills into her husband’s milk to render him unconscious before releasing a poisonous snake onto the bed, where it bit him. Superintendent of Police (Rural) Abhijit Kumar said that Panwar was rushed to a nearby Community Health Centre on Friday morning where he was later confirmed dead.
Police have said that the conspiracy was driven by two motives, claiming Rs 20 lakh in insurance and removing Atul from the picture so the pair could continue their relationship. The lovers allegedly planned the scheme to pass the death off as a natural snakebite incident and avoid suspicion.
Although the death initially appeared to be caused by a snakebite, investigators began examining the circumstances more closely. Police said that they analysed mobile phone records and other evidence, which eventually led them to uncover the alleged conspiracy involving Damini and Tushar. Both have been arrested while further investigations are underway.
According to police, Tushar is also married and had allegedly been planning to divorce his wife before the murder plot came to light.
