Meerut Court Sentences Two to Death in Blue Drum Murder Case

A local court in Meerut sentenced Muskan Rastogi and her partner Sahil Shukla to death on Wednesday for the murder of her husband, Saurabh Rajput. District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra pronounced the sentence, with both accused produced before the court through video conferencing. The convicts were also ordered to pay fines including 50,000 rupees under Section 302 and 20,000 rupees under Section 238A. Muskan and Sahil were previously held guilty by the Meerut district court on September 30. According to the case details, Saurabh, a former merchant navy officer, returned to his Meerut home from London on February 24, 2025. Prosecutors stated that his presence hindered the relationship between Muskan and Sahil, leading the two to plan his killing. On March 3, 2025, the victim was rendered unconscious using sedatives before being murdered. The accused then dismembered his body, placed the remains inside a blue plastic drum, and sealed it with cement. Police recovered the body encased in cement from the house on March 19, 2025, after a case was registered on March 18 based on a complaint by Saurabh's brother. The trial concluded after 13 months and 126 hearings following its transfer to the district judge's court in July 2025. The prosecution examined 22 witnesses, including individuals connected with the purchase of the blue drum, building their case on circumstantial, medical, forensic, and scientific evidence.

Context

Capital punishment in India is reserved for what the legal system terms the rarest of rare cases, typically involving extreme brutality or preplanned murder. Trials involving extensive forensic and circumstantial evidence often require numerous hearings and months of testimonies before reaching a final verdict.