A Meerut court on Wednesday sentenced Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla to death for the murder of Muskan's husband Saurabh Rajput, the former Merchant Navy officer whose dismembered remains were found sealed in a blue plastic drum at his house in Meerut's Brahmpuri locality.
Conviction, then capital punishment
District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra had convicted the pair on September 30 of murder and destruction of evidence after a trial that ran around 13 months across 126 hearings, with 22 prosecution witnesses examined. The prosecution's chargesheet, filed on May 12, 2025, ran to nearly 1,000 pages with statements from around 34 witnesses. The prosecution had sought the death penalty, arguing the crime fell in the "rarest of rare" category. "The court has held that both accused committed the murder of Saurabh Rajput and attempted to hide the evidence related to the crime," prosecution advocate Krishan Kumar Dubey said.
What police alleged
According to the police case, the duo drugged Rajput, stabbed him to death, and dismembered the body before packing the remains into a blue drum with cement and sand after realising they would not fit in a suitcase. The remains were discovered in mid-March 2025 after neighbours reported a foul smell. Both accused were arrested on March 18, 2025, after returning from a trip to Himachal Pradesh.
The case drew nationwide attention when the sealed drum was found, and the sentencing drew crowds outside the court. Rajput's mother Renu Devi had demanded the death penalty for the convicts. The defence can appeal the sentence in a higher court.
Sources: Death penalty for Muskan Rastogi, her lover Sahil Shukla in blue drum murder case | Meerut Blue Drum Murder Case Verdict Out: Death Penalty For Both Convicts
Conviction, then capital punishment
District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra had convicted the pair on September 30 of murder and destruction of evidence after a trial that ran around 13 months across 126 hearings, with 22 prosecution witnesses examined. The prosecution's chargesheet, filed on May 12, 2025, ran to nearly 1,000 pages with statements from around 34 witnesses. The prosecution had sought the death penalty, arguing the crime fell in the "rarest of rare" category. "The court has held that both accused committed the murder of Saurabh Rajput and attempted to hide the evidence related to the crime," prosecution advocate Krishan Kumar Dubey said.
What police alleged
According to the police case, the duo drugged Rajput, stabbed him to death, and dismembered the body before packing the remains into a blue drum with cement and sand after realising they would not fit in a suitcase. The remains were discovered in mid-March 2025 after neighbours reported a foul smell. Both accused were arrested on March 18, 2025, after returning from a trip to Himachal Pradesh.
The case drew nationwide attention when the sealed drum was found, and the sentencing drew crowds outside the court. Rajput's mother Renu Devi had demanded the death penalty for the convicts. The defence can appeal the sentence in a higher court.
Sources: Death penalty for Muskan Rastogi, her lover Sahil Shukla in blue drum murder case | Meerut Blue Drum Murder Case Verdict Out: Death Penalty For Both Convicts
