New Delhi: What was first believed to be an accidental death by electrocution has unraveled into a case of calculated murder driven by betrayal in Delhi, media reports said.

A 36-year-old man, Karan Dev, was brought dead to Mata Rooprani Maggo Hospital on July 13 by his wife Sushmita, who claimed he had been electrocuted accidentally, reported NDTV.

While the family waived the post-mortem, convinced it was a mishap, the Delhi Police pushed for an autopsy owing to the victim’s age and suspicious circumstances.

Sushmita and Karan’s cousin, Rahul, objected to the move — but the body was still sent to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for examination.

Three days later, Karan’s younger brother, Kunal, approached the police with damning evidence: Instagram chats between Sushmita and Rahul where they had openly discussed plotting the murder.

The messages revealed the two were having an affair and had meticulously planned the killing. On the night of the murder, they fed Karan 15 sleeping pills during dinner.

Once he fell unconscious but was still breathing, Rahul and Sushmita gave him electric shock to stage it as an accident.

The chats also showed the duo had searched online for how long sleeping pills take to work.

In one of the messages, Sushmita casually said she wanted to nap while Karan was unconscious but still breathing.

Police took Sushmita into custody, and during questioning, she confessed.

She told police her husband had slapped and abused her a day before Karwachauth and would often demand money from her — leading to prolonged mental and physical distress.

She admitted to killing him with Rahul, who is her lover and brother-in-law.

“We’ve registered a case under relevant sections based on preliminary investigation. Arrest procedures are underway, and we await the detailed post-mortem report,” said DCP Dwarka Ankit Singh was quoted as saying by NDTV.