MEERUT, April 17 -- A man asleep on a cot in his home on a quiet Sunday morning, a live Russell's viper coiled beneath him, and multiple snakebite marks on his body-it looked like a tragic accident. But when police dug deeper, the quiet village of Akbarpur Saadat in Meerut unravelled a story of betrayal, planning, and murder. Amit Kashyap alias Mikki, 25, was allegedly strangled by his wife, Ravita, and her lover, Amardeep, who then planted a venomous snake under his body to pass off the murder as a fatal snakebite, police said on Wednesday.

The killing bears disturbing similarities to the sensational March 2025 murder of 29-year-old merchant navy officer Saurabh Rajput, who was allegedly killed by his wife Muskan Rastogi and her lover S...