Muskan Rastogi, Sahil Shukla get death penalty in Meerut blue drum murder case

A Meerut court on Wednesday (Oct 14) sentenced Muskan Rastogi and her lover, Sahil Shukla, to death for killing her husband, Saurabh Rajput, in the infamous blue drum murder case. District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra delivered the sentence two weeks after the pair were convicted of murdering the merchant navy officer and hiding his dismembered body inside a concrete-filled blue plastic drum last year in March. The verdict came after 126 hearings and statements from 22 witnesses. The judge observed that crimes of this nature create fear across society.

Blue drum murder case

According to the prosecution, Rastogi sedated Rajput by mixing a substance into his food at their Indra Nagar home on March 3, 2025. Shukla arrived shortly afterwards, and the two allegedly stabbed Rajput before dismembering his body in the bathroom.

The couple then placed the remains inside a large blue plastic drum and filled it with a mixture of cement, sand and water to conceal the body and suppress the smell of decomposition, investigators said.

The following day, the two left for Himachal Pradesh. Rastogi allegedly used her husband's phone to send messages to his relatives, making it appear that he was alive and travelling for work.

Suspicion grew when relatives visited the house with local authorities on March 17, 2025. The couple's six-year-old daughter had reportedly told neighbours, "Papa is in the drum."

Police opened the sealed container and discovered Rajput's remains. Rastogi and Shukla were arrested two days later.

Evidence and testimonies

The prosecution presented circumstantial, technical and physical evidence during the trial. Shopkeepers testified that they had sold the accused the blue drum, cement bags, sand, cleavers and razors before the killing.

Call detail records and mobile tower data placed Shukla at the residence around the time of the murder. Investigators also traced the pair's movements to hotel stays in Shimla and Manali.

Post-mortem findings confirmed that Rajput had died from stab wounds. The evidence helped establish the prosecution’s account of the killing and the subsequent attempt to conceal his remains.