Muskan Rastogi and her lover, Sahil Shukla, who were convicted of killing her husband and Indian Merchant Navy officer, Saurabh Rajput, in the infamous 2025 ‘Blue Drum murder case’, were granted the death penalty on Wednesday (October 14, 2026). District and Sessions Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra pronounced the death sentence on the two convicts after 126 hearings and 22 witness accounts.
The court also imposed a fine of ₹50,000 each under Section 302 (murder) and ₹20,000 each under Section 238A (causing disappearance of evidence). Muskan and Sahil appeared before the court through video conferencing. The verdict in the case came after 126 hearings and 22 witness statements. Last month, on September 30, 2026, Muskan and her lover were convicted by the court for killing Saurabh Rajput.
“Both have been sentenced to death for the crime. They have been ordered to pay a fine of ₹50,000 under Section 302 and ₹20,000 under Section 238A. It is a historic verdict. The entire nation was watching; the eyes of the public were fixed on what punishment the perpetrators of this crime would receive. They appeared to be in a state of shock; they were stunned. One can imagine the mental state of someone facing the death penalty,” Government Counsel Krishna Kumar Dubey said.
#WATCH | Meerut, UP: Advocate Krishan Kumar Dubey says, "Both have been sentenced to death for the crime. They have been ordered to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 under Section 302 and Rs 20,000 under Section 238A. It is a historic verdict. The entire nation was watching; the eyes of the public were fixed on what punishment the perpetrators of this crime would receive. They appeared to be in a state of shock; they were stunned. One can imagine the mental state of someone facing the death penalty. The defense had presented arguments—such as the fact that no one actually witnessed the murder and that both accused have daughters—but these were all set aside because the evidence presented by the prosecution was so strong, significant, and precise that it conclusively proved their guilt. The primary basis was the nature of the murder itself: she killed her husband—whom she had married out of love—and then dismembered his body into three parts for disposal, hiding the remains in a blue drum. It was a meticulously planned conspiracy and strategy. She executed the murder with a calm and composed mind. Consequently, the death penalty was the appropriate punishment for such a premeditated killing. This is a significant verdict among the country’s court rulings; a woman being sentenced to death is, in itself, a precedent-setting event… Regarding her daughter, she can stay with her mother for six years."
— ANI (@ANI) October 14, 2026
Saurabh’s mother, who was present during the sentencing, welcomed the decision, saying that she wanted a death penalty for the convicts.
The verdict relates to a chilling case of the murder of Saurabh Rajput that sent shockwaves across the country. Saurab had returned to India from London on February 24, 2025, to celebrate Muskan’s and their daughter’s birthdays. However, Muskan and her lover had hatched a plan to kill him.
On March 3, 2025, Muskan Rastogi mixed an intoxicating substance into Saurabh’s food at their home in Indra Nagar. After Saurabh fell unconscious after consuming the food, her lover Sahil Shukla arrived at the house. The two together mercilessly chopped Saurabh’s body into pieces in the bathroom of the house. They later packed his dismembered body into a large blue plastic drum, filled it with a wet concrete mixture, and sealed it.
The next day, the couple fled to Himachal Pradesh, and Muskan texted Saurabh’s family from his phone to give them a false impression that he was travelling for business purposes. However, when Saurabh did not return, his family and relatives reached the house on March 17, 2025, accompanied by local authorities. They found the blue drum in which Saurabh’s body was concealed. The drum was cut open, and Saurabh’s remains were found inside it, frozen in concrete.
The police nabbed Muskan and Sahil two days later on March 19, 2025. The trial of the case before the District and Sessions Court began in July 2025.
