Meerut 'blue drum' murder: Death penalty for Muskan Rastogi, lover Sahil for husband's killing

The Meerut district court on Wednesday sentenced Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla to death for the murder of her husband Saurabh Rajput in the Meerut blue drum case.

Muskan and Sahil were found guilty on September 30, of killing an ex-Merchant Navy officer, Saurabh Rajput. His body was allegedly found concealed inside a blue drum at his house.

The case has seen 126 hearings and testimony from more than 22 witnesses, with the prosecution and defence presenting their respective arguments before district judge Arvind Kumar Mishra.

The case reached the court on March 17, 2025, while Muskan and Sahil were sent to Meerut jail on March 19. The trial was transferred to the district judge’s court in July 2025, and arguments continued for around 13 months.

Before the verdict, District government counsel Krishna Kumar Chaubey said, “All facts have been placed before the court, the witnesses have recorded their testimonies, and as such all proceedings related to this case have been completed. All that remains is the pronouncement of verdict, and tomorrow (September 30) is the next hearing in the case. There is nothing else left except to pronounce the verdict.”

The murder drew widespread attention after the prosecution alleged that Rajput’s body was cut into pieces and placed inside a large blue plastic drum before being sealed with cement. The prosecution case rested primarily on circumstantial, medical, forensic and scientific evidence.

Saurabh, a resident of Indira Nagar, was working in London and returned to his Meerut home on February 24, 2025. The prosecution alleged that after his return, his presence became an obstacle to the relationship between his wife Muskan and Sahil, prompting the two to hatch a conspiracy to kill him.

The case was registered on March 18, 2025, on a complaint filed by Saurabh’s brother. Police subsequently arrested Muskan and Sahil. According to the police, the body encased in cement inside the blue drum was recovered from the house on March 19.