In a landmark and chilling verdict, a district and sessions court in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut has sentenced Muskan Rastogi and her lover, Sahil Shukla, to death for the gruesome murder of her husband, Saurabh Rajput.
District and Sessions Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra pronounced the capital punishment nearly two years after the crime shook the nation, invoking principles of dharma from the Mahabharata to underline that justice and strict punishment are intrinsic to societal order.
The high-profile case dates back to March 4, 2025, when Saurabh Rajput, a Merchant Navy officer, was brutally murdered. According to police investigations, Muskan and Sahil conspired to kill him, subsequently dismembering his body and concealing the remains inside a blue plastic drum filled with concrete. Law enforcement officials later tracked down the duo and recovered the gruesome evidence, unearthing one of the most horrific crimes in the region’s recent history.
During Wednesday’s court proceedings, both convicts appeared via video conferencing from jail. Meanwhile, Saurabh’s mother, Renu Rajput, and his brother attended the hearing in person.
Overcome with emotion following the verdict, Renu Rajput delivered a heartbreaking message to society, urging couples facing marital discord to choose separation over violence.
“If you don’t want to live together, separate, but don’t kill someone’s child. For us, our child has not gone anywhere. His memories are in every corner of the house,” she shared, adding that anyone committing such a heinous act must face the ultimate consequence.
The call for the maximum penalty was unified. Earlier in the day, even Muskan’s parents submitted a written statement to the court confirming they would not oppose the death penalty if awarded to their daughter. Saurabh’s grieving family had consistently demanded capital punishment, bringing a sense of judicial closure to a tragic chapter that left a family and community deeply scarred.
