Meerut, Oct. 17 -- A court in Meerut on Friday sentenced a woman and her lover to death for killing her husband and placing a live snake beside his body to make the murder look like a snakebite. The court found the crime to fall under the "rarest of rare" category, said Meerut district government counsel Krishna Kumar Chaubey. This is the second instance of a Meerut court awarding the death penalty in a murder case this week. In a similar case, a court on October 14 sentenced Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla to death for murdering her husband, merchant navy officer Saurabh Rajput, and concealing his dismembered body in a blue drum filled with cement. Additional district and sessions judge Jaiveer Singh Nagar awarded the death penalty to Ravita, 24, and Amardeep, 26, for murdering Amit Kashyap alias Mikky, 25, and destroying evidence, 547 days after the incident, the DGC added. Chaubey said the judge began the 131-page judgment by quoting a verse from the Manusmriti on a ruler's duties and the importance of maintaining order. "Fear of punishment keeps society under control. Without punishment, the wicked would prey upon the righteous," the judgment stated. Amit, a resident of Akbarpur Sadat village, was found dead on a cot at his home on April 13, 2025, with a live snake beside his body. His family initially suspected a snakebite. However, the post-mortem examination found that he had died of strangulation, with injuries to his neck and nose, said police. According to investigators, Ravita and Amardeep allegedly developed a relationship eight to nine months before the murder. Amit learnt about it and this led to frequent disputes between the couple. The prosecution said Amardeep then arranged a snake from a snake charmer for Rs.1,000 on the pretext of using it at a religious gathering. On the night of April 12, 2025, the two allegedly strangled Amit while he slept and placed the snake beside his body to mislead investigators. Police also found that the two had spoken on the phone 51 times within 24 hours of the incident. The victim's brother filed an FIR against them on April 16, 2025. The prosecution examined 12 witnesses during the trial, including family members, the snake charmer and the investigating officer, said additional district government counsel (ADGC) Farzana Maqsood. According to ADGC Maqsood, before pronouncing the sentence, the judge heard both convicts through video conferencing. Ravita cited her three young children and requested that their welfare be ensured, while Amardeep said his elderly parents had nobody to look after them. Both broke down after the verdict, said Viresh Raj Sharma, senior superintendent of Chaudhary Charan Singh District Jail in Meerut....