Muskan Rastogi-Sahil Shukla murdered Saurabh Rajput in Meerut: What’s next for them? Can they get death sentence? Lawyer weighs in…

The murder of Saurabh Rajput, a former merchant navy officer, allegedly by his wife Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla has left Uttar Pradesh's Meerut shocked. Muskan killed Saurabh on March 4, 2025, a few days after the latter returned from London to celebrate his wife’s and daughter’s birthdays.

Muskan had allegedly been planning the murder since November 2024 and she manipulated Sahil to help her kill Saurabh. Sahil, who had lost his mother, was convinced by Muskan through fabricated Snapchat messages that his mother was communicating with him from beyond the grave. Using this deception, Muskan persuaded Sahil to help her kill Saurabh. She had also bought sedatives and large knives.

A few days before murdering Saurabh, she had tried killing him by sedating him, however, he had only slept then and hadn't become unconscious. On the night of March 4, Muskan added sedatives to Saurabh’s food again. She then joined Sahil in stabbing him to death. The duo dismembered Saurabh’s body and sealed it inside a blue plastic drum filled with cement and sand. They later sent misleading messages from Saurabh's phone to his family, pretending he had travelled to Manali and then returned to London.

The murder came to light when Muskan’s mother approached the police, revealing her daughter’s confession. Upon interrogation, both Muskan and Sahil admitted to the crime. The drum containing Saurabh's remains was recovered from their house.

"She (the daughter of Saurabh and Muskan) might be aware of this, as the neighbours told us that she (the daughter of Saurabh and Muskan) said that 'papa has been kept in drum'...She (the daughter) might have seen something, then only she was saying so," Saurabh's mother told news agency ANI.

She also alleged that Muskan's family was aware of the entire incident, and they consulted a lawyer before approaching the police to inform them that their daughter had killed Saurabh.

At present, both accused are in judicial custody. During their court appearance on Wednesday, a group of lawyers attempted to strike them and grab hold of Sahil's clothes.

What next for Muskan and Sahil?

The duo has been sent to 14-day judicial custody as the police have recovered the crime scene, the body and the murder weapon. The safety of the accused is also a concern. Ramaditya Tiwari, an advocate practising in Delhi, said that a fair trial is the fundamental right of the accused and therefore for their safety, it could be a possibility that they have been sent to judicial custody. There is no chance of bail for Muskan and Sahil for the next 90 days till the chargesheet is filed and investigations continue into this shocking case of betrayal and heinous murder.