Muskaan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla, sentenced to death on Wednesday for the murder of Rastogi’s husband, merchant navy officer Saurabh Rajput, in Meerut, broke down and “cried uncontrollably” after the verdict, officers told NDTV. Both have stopped eating since the sentence was pronounced, according to jail sources.
A death sentence handed down by a sessions court must be confirmed by the High Court before it can be carried out. The death sentence also changes what the two will wear in jail. They then sealed the remains in a blue plastic drum filled with a mix of sand, water and cement, as per the FIR. The pair fled to Himachal Pradesh the next day. Rastogi used Rajput’s phone to text his family, making it appear that he was alive and travelling on business. Police cut open the drum and found Rajput’s remains. Rastogi and Shukla were arrested two days later.
She sedated Rajput by lacing his food at their Indra Nagar home on March 3, 2025, according to the police case. On March 17, 2025, relatives went to the house with local authorities after the couple’s six-year-old daughter reportedly told neighbours, “Papa is in the drum.
Shukla will wear a white kurta-pyjama, while Rastogi will wear a cream-coloured saree or suit, the sources said. The prosecution said Shukla arrived shortly afterwards, and the two stabbed Rajput to death and dismembered his body.
“The judge cited references from the Mahabharata, affirming that the court would perform its duty, as ‘dharma also means punishing those who commit wrongs’. Despite significant efforts by the defence, we have prevailed. Muskaan Rastogi’s family never met her in prison.
the court referred to the Bhagavad Gita, according to the lawyer representing Rajput’s side While pronouncing the sentence. Saurabh’s family members did not say anything,” the lawyer said. Earlier in the day, Rastogi’s parents told the court that Rajput was a “very good person” and that if their daughter Muskaan were sentenced to death, “we will not protest”.
