A Meerut local court convicted Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla on Wednesday for the March 2025 murder of Rastogi’s husband, Saurabh Rajput. District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra delivered the verdict after 126 hearings and 22 witness statements established that the pair sedated Rajput, stabbed him to death at their Indra Nagar home, and concealed his dismembered body inside a blue industrial drum using a mixture of sand and cement. The prosecution intends to seek the death penalty when the court pronounces the quantum of sentence.
How the Meerut Murder Investigation Unfolded
According to police and court records, the crime took place on March 3, 2025. Muskan Rastogi laced her 29-year-old husband’s food with sedatives before Sahil Shukla arrived at the residence. The prosecution stated that the two stabbed Rajput to death, dismembered the body in the bathroom, and packed the remains into a large blue plastic drum. They poured a freshly mixed compound of sand, water, and cement over the remains to suppress decomposition odors.
The day after the killing, Rastogi and Shukla fled to Himachal Pradesh. Investigators established that Rastogi used Rajput’s mobile phone to send text messages to his family members to create the false impression that he was alive and travelling for business. Suspicious relatives visited the home alongside local authorities on March 17, 2025. Police cut open the sealed blue drum to discover Rajput’s remains, leading to the arrest of Rastogi and Shukla two days later.
Evidence and Prosecution Case in the Blue Drum Trial
The 13-month trial relied heavily on a chain of circumstantial, technical, and physical evidence. Local shopkeepers testified that they sold the specific blue plastic drum, cement bags, sand, cleavers, and razors to the defendants prior to the murder. Call detail records and mobile signal tower locations placed Shukla at the residence during the time of the killing and tracked the duo’s joint movement to hotel stays in Shimla and Manali.
Post-mortem examinations confirmed that Rajput died from stab wounds inflicted by sharp-edged weapons. While the defense challenged the prosecution by noting the absence of eyewitnesses and pointing toward a potential property dispute, District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra ruled that the forensic and physical evidence proved the conspiracy and execution of the crime.
Sentencing Arguments and Legal Next Steps
The court concluded final arguments on September 17 and scheduled the verdict for Wednesday under tight security at the Meerut court complex. With the conviction secured, the court will convene to hear arguments on the quantum of the sentence. The prosecution has announced its intention to press for the death penalty, citing the calculated nature of the crime and the judge’s observation that such acts create fear in society at large.
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