Meerut | A man was killed allegedly by his wife and her lover who later placed a venomous snake near his body to cover the crime, police said on Thursday.

The post-mortem report blew the lid off their plot as it showed that the man had been strangled. The woman, Ravita (30), and her lover Amardeep (20), who was a friend of her husband, have been arrested, police said.

Circle Officer (CO) Abhishek Kumar Patel said the incident took place in Akbarpur Sadat village under the Behsuma police station area.

"Amit Kashyap (30), alias Mickey, was found dead at his home on Sunday morning. A venomous snake was found near his bed, leading to the assumption that he had died of a snakebite," Patel told PTI.

However, the post-mortem report stated that he died due to asphyxiation, he said.

"Following the report, we initiated a detailed investigation into the case," the CO said.

During questioning, Ravita (30) confessed that she and Amardeep (20) planned and carried out the murder, Patel said.

"The two accused strangled Amit and then placed the snake near his body to make it look like an accident. The snake was trapped under the body and bit it several times, which led to the confusion during the preliminary investigation," he said.

Amardeep, who also hails from Amit's village, was in a relationship with Ravita. Amit had come to know about their affair and had frequent arguments with his wife over it, police said.

Ravita and Amardeep have been taken into custody. Further legal proceedings in the case are underway, they said.