Meerut: A Merchant Navy officer from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut, Saurabh Rajput, was brutally murdered and his body was chopped into 15 pieces, stuffed into a drum, and sealed with cement. The prime accused in the case are his wife, Muskaan Rastogi, and her lover, Sahil Shukla. The shocking crime, driven by an extramarital affair, unfolded after a police investigation revealed a chilling tale of love, betrayal, and murder.
Saurabh and Muskaan had a love marriage in 2016, but his decision to quit his Merchant Navy job to spend time with his wife caused friction with his family. The couple moved into a rented house, and in 2019, they had a daughter. However, their happiness was short-lived. Saurabh discovered Muskaan’s affair with Sahil, his friend, leading to marital tensions. Though he considered divorce, he ultimately chose to stay for his daughter’s future and rejoined the Merchant Navy in 2023.
Saurabh returned home on February 24 to celebrate his daughter’s sixth birthday on February 28. However, by then, Muskaan and Sahil had planned to kill him. On March 4, Muskaan allegedly laced Saurabh’s food with sleeping pills. Once he was unconscious, she and Sahil stabbed him to death. They then dismembered his body, placed the parts in a drum, and sealed it with wet cement, planning to dispose of it later.
To avoid suspicion Muskaan lied to neighbors, claiming Saurabh had gone to a hill station. She and Sahil took his phone to Manali, posting pictures on his social media to create an illusion that he was still alive. However Saurabh’s family grew suspicious when he stopped responding to their calls and filed a police complaint.
Once taken into custody Muskaan and Sahil confessed to the murder. Police recovered the sealed drum but had to use drilling machines to break the hardened cement and retrieve Saurabh’s remains 14 days after his murder.
Meerut City police chief Ayush Vikram Singh confirmed the arrests, stating, “The body has been sent for autopsy, and both accused will be presented in court.”