Meerut court sentences Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla to death in murder case
The pair were convicted of murdering Saurabh Rajput and destroying evidence. The detailed written sentencing order was still awaited at the time of reporting.
A court in Meerut, India, sentenced Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla to death on 14 October 2026 after convicting them of murdering Saurabh Rajput and destroying evidence, The Hindu reported. The ruling follows a case that drew attention after Rajput’s body was found in a cement-filled plastic drum in March 2025.
What the Meerut court decided
The court convicted Rastogi and Shukla on 30 September and set 14 October for sentencing, according to The Times of India. Both appeared for sentencing by video conference. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for each defendant, making the punishment imposed on Wednesday the one they had requested.
The court imposed fines totalling ₹70,000 on each defendant, The Hindu reported. The Times of India said the amount comprised ₹50,000 for murder and ₹20,000 for destruction of evidence. The detailed written court order was still awaited when The Hindu published its account of the sentence.
Prosecution lawyer K.K. Chaubey said the judge invoked the Mahabharata while explaining the punishment, according to both The Hindu and The Times of India. The Hindu attributed to Chaubey the judge’s statement that justice required punishment proportionate to the gravity of the offence. Chaubey’s account is the basis for the reported remarks pending the written order.
How the Saurabh Rajput case reached sentencing
Rajput was killed in March 2025, and his body was discovered about two weeks later in the cement-filled drum, The Hindu reported. The Hindu described him as a merchant navy officer; The Times of India called him a former Merchant Navy officer. The outlets gave different dates for the killing, 3 and 4 March respectively, so the precise day remains unclear from these accounts.
Police filed a nearly 1,000-page chargesheet in May 2025, according to The Hindu’s account of the investigation. It said the filing included forensic reports, call records, CCTV footage and witness statements. Those materials formed part of the case brought to trial; the report does not set out the detailed written reasoning behind Wednesday’s sentence.
The Hindu counted more than 100 hearings during the trial, while The Times of India reported 126. Both reported that 22 prosecution witnesses were examined. Those proceedings preceded the September convictions and the sentencing date set for October.
Sources and context
- ’Blue drum’ murder case: Meerut court sentences wife, partner to deathThe Hindu
- Blue drum murder case: From husband’s killing to death sentence for Muskan Rastogi, her lover, here's what happenedThe Times of India
- ‘Punishing guilty is also Dharma’: Meerut court invokes 'Mahabharata' in blue drum murder caseThe Times of India
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