Meerut Killers Muskaan, Sahil Made A Mistake That Cost Them Heavily

Meerut's Muskaan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla, accused of brutally murdering her husband Saurabh Rajput, had a plan to dispose of the body once they were back from their Himachal vacation. But they had not factored in the weight of the cement-sealed plastic drum in which they had hidden 15 pieces of Saurabh's body. And this proved to be their undoing.

According to the investigation so far, Muskaan and Sahil stabbed Saurabh to death late on March 3. The body was then chopped up into 15 pieces. These pieces were thrown into a plastic drum and wet cement was poured over them. Muskaan and Sahil then left for a two-week Himachal trip and they planned to dispose of the drum once they returned.

Police have recovered videos shot by the accused during their hill retreat. In the visuals, they look happy and relaxed, days after committing the grisly murder and leaving the body at home. The two returned on March 17 and decided to dispose of the body. Accordingly, they called some labourers the next day and asked them to lift the drum and dump it somewhere. But the drum proved to be so heavy that the labourers could not lift it. During their attempts, the drum's lid came off and the stench of Saurabh's rotting body parts filled the air. Unable to lift the drum and suspicious over the stench, the labourers left.

Muskaan, the probe found, panicked at this stage and reached her parents' home. Initially, she tried to pin the murder on Saurabh's sister and his brother-in-law. But when her parents grilled her, Muskaan admitted that she and Sahil killed Saurabh, the investigation has found. Her parents then took her to the police station, where she told the cops about her and Sahil's roles in the murder. The two were later arrested and are now in judicial custody.

A neighbour has said Sahil regularly visited Muskaan at her Meerut home. "She was well-behaved. I never imagined she could do something like this. We got no wind of the murder on March 3. On March 17, I saw her sitting alone quietly. Now I know she was thinking about how to dispose of the drum. I heard that several labourers came, but could not lift the drum," she said.

Saurabh, then a Merchant Navy officer, and Muskaan married in 2016 and have a six-year-old daughter. Muskaan's relationship with Saurabh's family was strained from the beginning and the couple lived separately in a rented house. Around 2019, Saurabh found out about his wife's affair with Sahil. He had also considered divorce, but stepped back thinking of his daughter's future. He had been working in London, while Muskaan stayed in Meerut. He was visiting home for his daughter's birthday when he was murdered. 

According to Muskaan's parents, she and Sahil killed Saurabh because they feared he would put an end to their drug sessions. Muskaan's parents have said Saurabh always supported her and must get justice. Saurabh's family has alleged Muskaan married him for money and they did not like her from the beginning.