Meerut school owner murdered; wife, three held in snakebite plot

Police arrested four people, including the victim’s wife, after a Meerut school operator was allegedly sedated and killed in a staged snakebite murder.

Wife among four people arrested after a 32-year-old school operator in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut was found dead at his rented home in J-Block Colony in Hastinapur on Friday morning, police said.

A 32-year-old Meerut school operator was allegedly murdered by his wife and her lover, who staged the crime as a snakebite with the help of two snake charmers. (HT File Photo/ Representative photo)

According to police officers, Atul Kumar Panwar was allegedly murdered by his wife, Damini, and a bus driver at Panwar’s school, Tushar, who disguised the crime as a snakebite death.

Two snake charmers -- Sonu and Uday Kumar -- were arrested in connection with the case, a police officer said, adding that the snake used was a highly venomous krait.

Damini allegedly conspired with Tushar to eliminate him. “Atul was first given milk laced with sleeping pills before a snake was used to bite him while he was asleep, causing his death. Tushar was working as a bus driver at Atul’s school,” investigators said.

Tushar allegedly enlisted the help of the two snake charmers, both residents of Hastinapur, to carry out the plan.

Atul, a native of Bhandora village, and Damini, a resident of J-Block, got married in 2019. The couple had been living in a rented house in J-Block Colony for the past four months along with their six-year-old son.

Three months ago, the couple had started Krishna Kids Play School in the town. Tushar, a resident of Kohla village in Mawana, had reportedly joined the school as a bus driver around the same time.

Police said that Damini had informed locals on Friday morning that Atul had died of a snakebite. “A snake found on the deceased’s bed was killed at the spot by people present. Snakebite marks were found on Atul’s hand and leg. Initially, it appeared to be a case of accidental death by snakebite,” an officer said.

Meanwhile, Atul’s father, Ajab Singh, accused his daughter-in-law of murdering his son.

“Police launched an investigation based on the family’s allegations. During the probe, officers discovered that Tushar had been working as the school’s bus driver for the past three months and that he was allegedly involved in an extramarital relationship with Damini,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Avinash Pandey said.

“Further investigation led the police to conclude that the victim’s death was the result of a premeditated murder rather than a natural snakebite incident,” Pandey said.