On 30th September (Wednesday), Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla were found guilty by a Meerut district court of killing her husband, Saurabh Rajput in the infamous 2025 “blue drum” murder case. The development marked the conclusion of the proceedings after 13 months, 126 hearings and 22 witness statements.
According to District Government Counsel Krishna Kumar Chaubey, the court heard the matter through video conferencing and pronounced the duo guilty, while the quantum of sentence is going to be conveyed later. He mentioned that Rastogi and Shukla plotted the murder of the 29-year-old Merchant Navy officer.
They used concrete and sand to hide his dismembered body inside a blue industrial drum. The judge highlighted that these crimes instil fear in society. The prosecution had interrogated more than 22 witnesses and presented forensic and scientific evidence in support of their case.
“The court has held Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla guilty of the murder of Saurabh Rajput and, while referring to a Supreme Court order, observed that perpetrators of such heinous and serious crimes should receive appropriate punishment so that a message goes out in society that the rule of law prevails,” emphasised Government counsel Krishna Kumar Chaubey.
Now, the court will hear arguments regarding the sentence. The prosecution wants to pursue severe penalties for both, including the death penalty. Rastogi and Shukla also attended the hearing virtually from the local jail in which they are presently housed.
“The court has held Muskan (Rastogi) guilty, but I have one question for her, why did she kill my son? If she was in court, I would have asked her this publicly. She had eloped with my son, saying she wanted to live with him. We got them married. Later, when differences arose between them, a divorce was filed and was pending in court. She could have simply separated from him,” expressed the victim’s mother Renu Rajput.
Background of the case
According to the police investigation, on 3rd March 2025, Muskan Rastogi used laced food to sedate Saurabh Rajput at their Indra Nagar residence. He had returned to India on 24th February to celebrate her and their daughter’s birthdays.
Afterwards, Sahil Shukla showed up there, and the two killed Rajput with a knife before dismembering his body in the bathroom. The probe indicated that they piled the fragmented body parts into a large blue plastic drum and packed it with a freshly prepared wet compound of sand, water and cement. It was then sealed in an attempt to suppress the smell of decomposition.
The following day, the two left to Himachal Pradesh, where Rastogi used the deceased’s cell phone to send texts to his family, creating a deceptive appearance that he was alive and on a business trip. However, concerned family members went to the house alongside authorities on 17th March. The sealed drum was cut open, and Rajput’s remains were found inside, resulting in the chase and arrest of the perpetrators after two days.
The prosecution produced multiple circumstantial, technical and physical evidence during the trial. Post-mortem tests indicated that Rajput been stabbed to death. It revealed injuries from sharp-edged weapons, while police and forensic witnesses testified on the finding of Rajput’s remains. Evidence about the procurement of a knife, razor, drum, cement, and sand in connection with the crime was utilised as well by the police.
Local shopkeepers also unveield that they sold the specific blue plastic drum, cement bags, sand, cleavers and razors to the duo prior to the murder. According to call detail data and cell signal tower locations, Shukla was present at the crime site. Furthermore, their hotel stays in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla and Manali were similarly traced. Meanwhile, Rastogi gave birth to a girl in the jail on 24th November.
Security was increased at the Meerut court complex ahead of the hearing as Shukla was attacked by some attorneys during a previous hearing in March 2025.
