Blue drum murder: Court refers to Mahabharata, 'dharma' during sentencing
What's the story
The Meerut court on Wednesday sentenced Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla to death for the murder of Rastogi's merchant navy officer husband, Saurabh Rajput. The court referred to the Bhagavad Gita while pronouncing the sentence. "The judge cited references from the Mahabharata, affirming that the court would perform its duty, as 'dharma also means punishing those who commit wrongs,'" said Rajput's lawyer after the verdict.
Verdict details
126 hearings, 22 witnesses in lengthy trial
District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra pronounced the death sentence after a lengthy trial with 126 hearings and 22 witnesses.
The court found the duo guilty of conspiring to kill Rajput and hiding his dismembered body in a blue industrial drum with concrete and sand.
He said Muskan and Sahil would be hanged as they appeared for the hearing virtually from jail. The victim's mother, Renu Rajput, and his brother were present in the courtroom.
Crime scene
How couple killed Rajput, hid his dismembered body
The death sentence, however, will have to be confirmed by the Allahabad High Court.
Ahead of the sentencing, Muskan's parents called Rajput a "very good person" in court, adding they wouldn't protest if their daughter was sentenced to death.
According to the police case, Muskan sedated Rajput on March 3, 2025, at their home.
Sahil then arrived and together they stabbed Rajput to death.
They dismembered his body in the bathroom and stuffed it into a large blue plastic drum.
Arrest details
How police discovered the gruesome murder
The drum was filled with sand, water, and cement to mask decomposition odors before being sealed.
The next day, they fled to Himachal Pradesh.
Muskan later used Rajput's phone to text his family, pretending he was alive and on a business trip.
On March 17, 2025, suspicious relatives alerted local authorities after the couple's six-year-old daughter allegedly said "papa is in the drum."
Police opened the sealed drum and discovered Rajput's remains.
Muskan and Sahil were arrested two days later.
Trial evidence
What did the prosecution present?
During the trial, the prosecution relied on circumstantial, technical, and physical evidence.
Local shopkeepers testified to selling items used in the murder.
Sahil was placed at the crime scene based on call detail records and cell tower data. The same data tracked their activity to hotels in Shimla and Manali after they fled Meerut.
A post-mortem confirmed Rajput was stabbed to death.