A Meerut court has sentenced Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla to death for murdering Muskan’s husband, Saurabh Rajput, a former Merchant Navy officer, in the case widely known as the “blue drum murder case.”
Rajput was killed and his body dismembered before the remains were concealed inside a large blue plastic drum filled with sand and cement. District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra awarded the death penalty after a trial spanning 126 hearings, citing scientific and circumstantial evidence and classifying the case as “rarest of rare.”
Reacting to the verdict, Rajput’s mother, Renu Devi, expressed relief and gratitude, saying the family had finally received the justice it had sought.
"We feel very good; we are deeply satisfied that both of them have been sentenced to death. We received the justice we were seeking. We are extremely grateful to our lawyers, associates, and staff; we will always thank them and remain indebted to them. We have nothing to do with the daughter who is in jail. As for the elder daughter—if her maternal grandparents hand her over to us without any conditions, we will keep her with us," she told ANI.
Rajput returned to Meerut from London in late February 2025. According to the prosecution, Muskan and Sahil considered his presence an obstacle to their relationship and conspired to kill him. They allegedly dismembered his body and sealed the remains inside a blue plastic drum with cement.
The murder came to light after Rajput’s family filed a missing person report. Police subsequently recovered the drum from the house and arrested both accused.
Although the court has concluded the trial by sentencing the two to death and imposing fines, the family continues to deal with the emotional impact of the crime. Renu Devi said she had disowned her association with her convicted daughter-in-law and that her priority was now the well-being of her elder granddaughter, provided she was handed over to the family without conditions.