Laravel Eloquent OR WHERE IS NOT NULL
If you want to search deleted record (Soft Deleted Record), don't user Eloquent Model Query.
Instead use Db::table query
e.g
Instead of using Below:
$stu = Student::where('rollNum', '=', $rollNum . '-' . $nursery)->first();
Use
$stu = DB::table('students')->where('rollNum', '=', $newRollNo)->first();
Eloquent has a method for (Laravel 4.* | 5.*):
Model::whereNotNull('sent_at')
Laravel 3:
Model::where_not_null('sent_at')