Meerut Murder Accused Faces Drug Craving, Isolation in Jail

Photo: PTI

Muskaan Rastogi and her lover, Sahil Shukla, have been arrested for the brutal murder of Muskaan’s husband, Saurabh Rajput. They are accused of killing Saurabh and hiding his body parts in a cement-sealed drum. The two wanted to stay together in prison, but jail officers said this was not possible.

According to officers at Meerut's Chaudhary Charan Singh district jail, Muskaan and Sahil requested to be placed in the same barrack. However, the jail manual does not allow male and female prisoners to stay in the same barrack. As a result, Muskaan and Sahil are kept in two separate but adjoining cells.

A senior jail officer, Viresh Raj Sharma, spoke to the news agency. He said, "They were informed that there is no contact between male and female inmates in the jail." The officer also shared that both Muskaan and Sahil are drug addicts and are going through withdrawal symptoms. They are being given treatment for this.

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Muskaan has also told the prison authorities that her family will not hire a lawyer for her. She has asked for a government lawyer to represent her in court. Muskaan and Sahil have not spoken to any other prisoners and no one has visited them in jail. They have both been treated at the jail’s de-addiction center, and the staff is keeping a close watch on them. Muskaan didn't eat anything on her first day in jail, but she has been eating her meals since then.

Both Muskaan and Sahil are currently in judicial custody. They were arrested last week for the murder of Saurabh Rajput, a former Merchant Navy officer who had been working in London for the past two years. Saurabh had come to Meerut last month to celebrate his daughter’s birthday.

The Murder Details

On March 4, Muskaan allegedly drugged Saurabh and then stabbed him to death. After killing him, she and Sahil chopped up his body into 15 pieces. They sealed the body parts in a plastic drum filled with wet cement. Then, they took the drum and traveled to Himachal Pradesh. While there, they used Saurabh’s phone to post pictures on social media, trying to make it look like he was still alive.

Later, Muskaan told her parents that she and Sahil had killed Saurabh. According to the police, Saurabh’s family was shocked when they learned of the murder. They said that Muskaan and Saurabh had a love marriage in 2016 and had a 6-year-old daughter. However, their relationship had become difficult over time, especially after Saurabh found out about Muskaan’s affair with Sahil in 2019.

Saurabh had thought about divorcing Muskaan but decided against it because of their daughter. Muskaan and Sahil were reportedly worried that Saurabh would end their drug sessions, which may have been one of the reasons they killed him.

Saurabh’s Family and Muskaan’s Parents Speak Out

Muskaan's parents have said that Saurabh always supported her and they want justice for his death. On the other hand, Saurabh’s family has accused Muskaan of marrying him for money. They also did not like her from the beginning.

The police have said they will ask the court for more time to question Muskaan and Sahil as part of the ongoing investigation into the murder.