Meerut court sentences Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla to death

A Meerut court sentenced Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla to death on October 14 for murdering Saurabh Rajput, the court’s decision following their conviction on September 30. District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra pronounced the sentences, and both defendants appeared by video conference from jail. The case, known as the blue drum murder, concerned Rajput’s killing at his home in Meerut on March 3, 2025. His remains were recovered later that month from a blue plastic drum filled with cement, according to reports of the investigation. The prosecution said Rastogi and Shukla killed Rajput and concealed his dismembered body in the drum. The court convicted them of murder and attempting to conceal his body. Their sentences were imposed after a trial lasting about 13 months and 126 hearings, during which prosecutors examined 22 witnesses. Those witnesses included people connected with the purchase of the drum, a knife and other items allegedly used in the crime. Hotel managers and cab drivers also testified about the defendants’ movements, and records of their stays at different locations were presented, according to accounts of the trial.