Meerut, Oct. 8 -- A court in Meerut on Wednesday convicted a woman and her lover for murdering her husband by strangling him and then allegedly placing a snake on his bed in an attempt to make the death appear to have been caused by snake bite. The court will pronounce the sentence against Ravita and her lover Amardeep on October 16. The verdict came 538 days after the murder, following 16 hearings during which more than 12 witnesses were examined. The prosecution case was that Ravita and Amardeep had jointly conspired to kill Amit Kashyap after their relationship came to light. Amit, a resident of Akbarpur Sadat village, around four kilometres from the Meerut-Pauri highway, was found dead at his home on April 17, 2025. Amardeep, who worked with Amit in laying tiles and stone, frequently visited his house. Police said he subsequently developed a relationship with Ravita. According to additional district government counsel Sarzana Maksood, after Amit became aware of the relationship, Ravita and Amardeep conspired to eliminate him. They allegedly purchased a snake from a snake charmer in the Mawana area for Rs 1,000. On the night of April 17, after Amit went to sleep, Ravita allegedly called Amardeep to the house. The two allegedly strangled Amit and then placed the snake on the bed, intending to create the impression that he had died after being bitten. Amardeep allegedly left the house afterwards, while Ravita went to sleep in another room. The following morning, family members found Amit dead. Snake-bite marks were visible on his body, leading the family to initially believe that he had died after being bitten by a snake. A snake charmer was called to the house, and he caught the snake and took it away. The family subsequently took Amit to a doctor, but he had already died. Five days later, his postmortem report established that the cause of death was suffocation and not snake venom. Police then detained Ravita on suspicion. During questioning, she allegedly disclosed Amardeep's involvement. Police subsequently questioned both accused, who allegedly confessed to the crime. The investigation also found that the snake allegedly used in the incident was neither venomous nor had fangs, according to the prosecution. Ravita, who has remained in Meerut jail since the murder, appeared in court on Wednesday with her face covered. She did not respond when media personnel attempted to speak to her. Amardeep is currently out on bail. Before being taken to jail, Ravita had alleged that Amit used to assault her regularly and had threatened to force her into prostitution. Amardeep, before being taken to jail, had told police that he had an argument with Amit over a Rs 3,500 financial transaction a few days before the murder. Although others subsequently brokered a settlement between them, Amardeep claimed that Amit had continued to threaten him and had allegedly sent some men to attack him. Amardeep said he then plotted Amit's murder to save his own life. He told police that he had purchased the snake for Rs 1,000 from snake charmers in Mohammadpur village in the Mawana area. The court, after considering the evidence and statements of the witnesses, held Ravita and Amardeep guilty of jointly murdering Amit. The court is scheduled to announce their punishment on October 16....