Indore man murders wife, attempts to pass it off as snake-bite accident

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Indore (Madhya Pradesh): In a shocking case, the Madhya Pradesh Police on Wednesday arrested a 36-year-old ex-bank manager for murdering his wife with help from other family members and attempting to pass it off as a case of death due to snake bite.

"They had an argument and he suffocated her with a pillow on December 1. Then with the help of a pair of tongs, he made a snake bite mark over her body. He said that he got the idea from a TV serial," said the police. Besides Amitesh Pateria, his sister and father were also arrested on the charges of abetting the crime.

During the investigation and recce of the spot, the police found injury marks on her left hand and signs of struggle were also evident from the scene of the alleged crime. 

"Her body was transferred to a mortuary and then sent for a post mortem examination. The reports showed that she died due to 'asphyxia as a result of smothering'," the police said. 

During the investigation, the police found that Amitesh had bought a black cobra from Rajasthan as part of his plans to murder his wife. He killed the snake after murdering his wife and planted it near her body to pass it off as a snake bite incident.

After thorough investigation, collating circumstantial evidence, post mortem report and photos found on Amitesh's phone, the police arrested him and charged him for murder and conspiring to kill under the relevant sections of Indian Penal Code.

A case was also registered under the Wildlife Protection Act for killing the snake.