India, July 18 -- What initially appeared to be an accidental snakebite death has now turned out to be a meticulously planned murder in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut, with police alleging that a school operator was first drugged with sleeping pills before a highly venomous snake was used to kill him.

Police have arrested four people, including the victim's wife, her alleged lover and two snake charmers, in connection with the murder of Atul Kumar Panwar, whose body was found at his rented home in J-Block Colony in Hastinapur on Friday morning, HT reported earlier.

According to investigators, Panwar was allegedly murdered by his wife, Damini, and Tushar, a bus driver employed at the couple's school, who attempted to pass off the killing as a fa...