Details emerging in the haunting murder of merchant navy officer Saurabh Rajput from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut allegedly by his wife Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla have sent shockwaves across the country, with details of eerie attempts to cover up the crime adding to the horrors.
The murder of Saurabh Rajput came to light earlier this week, however, police said that he was killed days before his mangled body was recovered from a cement-filled drum.
Since the uncovering of the incident, details have been leaking out non-stop, from family members of victim alleging that Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla were into occult practices to videos circulating of the duo dancing on Holi, allegedly after committing the crime.
Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Rajput got married in 2016 against his family’s wishes, following a relationship and they had a six-year-old daughter. Muskan and Sahil had known each other since school and reconnected via a WhatsApp group in 2019, police said.
Meerut murder | Haunting details so far
-The crime: Saurabh Rajput, a merchant navy employee, had been missing since March 4 and his mangled body was found sealed under cement in a drum days later, police said on March 18. An investigation was launched upon receiving information about the matter. The incident took place in Indra Nagar area of Meerut. On the basis of suspicion, police detained Saurabh Rajput’s wife Muskan and her lover Sahil, who later reportedly confessed to having committed the crime.
-Confession: During interrogation, Muskan and Sahil confessed to having stabbed Saurabh Rajput to death on March 4. The two then chopped up his body, put the remains inside a drum and sealed it with cement. The two were arrested and are currently in judicial custody.
–Sedatives in lauki kofta: On March 3, Saurabh returned home with a dish of ‘lauki ke kofte’ prepared by his mother, Renu. Muskan seized the opportunity, reheating the dish and lacing it with the sedatives, police said. As Saurabh slipped into unconsciousness, she dialed Sahil, summoning him to their rented home in Indira Nagar. Meerut SP City Ayush Vikram Singh said police visited multiple shops where Muskan purchased a knife, a drum, and medicines. A medical store owner, Amit Joshi, confirmed selling sleeping pills to Muskan after she presented a doctor’s prescription. An elderly man accompanying her falsely posed as her father. Police are now trying to locate him.
-Holi, clubbing in post-murder Himachal trip: After the murder, Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla travelled to Himachal Pradesh’s Kasol on March 10 and checked into a hotel by introducing themselves as husband and wife. They left on March 16, the hotel operator said, adding the accused duo’s driver accompanied them. Their stay included Holi celebrations at a resort, and dancing at a nightclub, purported videos of which surfaced on social media.
-Duo didn’t leave hotel in Himachal: During their Himachal trip, the accused duo remained in their hotel room throughout the day, only leaving once for a brief outing in their car, which struck the staff as unusual. They had minimal interaction with the hotel staff and did not even let them clean their room. Upon check-out, they informed the hotel operator that they had arrived from Manali and planned to return to Uttar Pradesh.
-Saurabh Rajput’s autopsy reveal brutality: Saurabh Rajput’s post-mortem report on Saturday revealed the extreme brutality with which he was killed and the body dismembered allegedly by his wife and her lover. Rajput’s head was severed from the body, both hands were cut off from the wrist and his legs were bent backwards, suggesting an attempt to fit the body in a drum, the autopsy report revealed. The cause of death was attributed to shock and excessive bleeding.
-Heart punctured, neck severed: Doctors who conducted the post-mortem reported that Rajput was stabbed in the heart with extreme force thrice. Superintendent of Police (City) Ayush Vikram Singh confirmed on Saturday the post-mortem findings. “Muskaan brutally stabbed Saurabh in his heart, puncturing it. His neck was severed and both palms were cut off. The body was cut up into four pieces to fit it in the drum,” the officer said.
-Muskan’s chats: Muskan’s online chats and audio she exchanged with the driver of the cab in which she and Sahil travelled to Himachal Pradesh also surfaced on social media. The audio recording recovered by police features Muskan instructing the cab driver to deliver a cake to her hotel room. The duo continued their lavish stay until they ran out of funds and returned to Meerut.
-Landlord caught Muskan, Sahil in compromising position: Investigations revealed that Muskan and Sahil were in a secret relationship. Their landlord had caught them in a compromising position in 2021, after which Saurabh learned about their affair. The duo primarily used Snapchat for communication and deleted chats before the crime. Their mobile phones, along with Saurabh’s, have been sent for forensic analysis.