Meerut, Oct 16: A court in Meerut on Friday sentenced Ravita and her lover, Amardeep, to death for murdering her husband, Amit Kashyap, and attempting to disguise the crime as a snakebite incident.
The verdict came days after another Meerut court on Wednesday sentenced 'Blue Drum murder case' convicts Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla to death for killing her husband Saurabh Rajput in 2025 and sealing up his dismembered body in a drum.
In the present case, the accused, who were connected to the proceedings through video conferencing from jail, were convicted on October 7.
Additional District Judge (ADJ-12) Jaiveer Singh Nagar heard the case, which involved an alleged conspiracy to kill Kashyap and mislead his family and the police by placing a snake on his body.
The incident took place in Akbarpur Sadat village, under the Bahsuma police station area of Meerut district. Kashyap's body was found on his bed on the morning of April 13, 2025, with a snake trapped beneath his waist. Around 10 snakebite marks were reportedly found on his body, leading his family to initially believe that he had died from a snakebite.
However, when the family decided to get a post-mortem examination conducted, Ravita objected and behaved aggressively towards them. The post-mortem report subsequently revealed that there was no snake venom in Amit's body and that he had died of suffocation.
The findings raised suspicions about the circumstances surrounding his death, prompting the police to investigate the possibility of murder.
During the investigation, police examined the post-mortem report and call detail records (CDRs) of Ravita's mobile phone. The investigation reportedly revealed that Ravita and Amardeep, who was a friend of her husband, had spoken on the phone 51 times within 24 hours of the incident.
Police questioning initially yielded misleading responses from Ravita, but she later allegedly confessed to having an illicit relationship with Amardeep. According to the investigation, her husband had repeatedly threatened her and suspected the relationship.
Investigators found that the alleged murder plan had been prepared before the incident. Just 24 hours before Kashyap's death, Ravita had returned from the Maha Shakumbhari Devi Temple in Saharanpur with her husband and children. She had also performed a dandavat parikrama during the visit.
Although Ravita frequently posted social media reels showing her with her husband and their children, investigators alleged that she and Amardeep had planned to execute the murder immediately after returning from Saharanpur.
To make the killing appear to be a snakebite, the accused purchased a snake from a snake charmer for Rs 1,000, claiming that it was required for a religious ritual. The snake was subsequently placed on Kashyap's bed to create the impression that he had died from its bite.
On April 16, 2025, Monu Kashyap, Kashyap's brother, lodged a complaint against Ravita and Amardeep at the Bahsuma police station. Police filed a charge sheet within 60 days of the murder.
The court examined the case over 551 days and conducted 87 hearings. More than 12 prosecution witnesses presented their statements during the proceedings, providing evidence concerning the circumstances of Kashyap's death and the alleged conspiracy.
--IANS