A court in Meerut, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, has sentenced a woman and her boyfriend to death for the murder of her husband. Muskan Rastogi, 26, and Sahil Shukla, 28, were convicted on 30 September over the 2025 killing of Saurabh Rajput. The death sentences were handed down on Wednesday.
The case has become known as the “blue drum murder” because Rajput’s body was found in a large blue plastic storage container, locally called a drum. The sentences must be confirmed by the high court, and both defendants can challenge the verdict.
Prosecutors’ account of the affair and the killing
The prosecution told the court that Rastogi and Shukla had been classmates at school and grew close while Rajput was working in London. When Rajput discovered the affair in 2021, he wanted a divorce, but his family persuaded him against it because the couple had a young daughter.
Rajput was killed on 3 March 2025 while visiting Meerut. Police said Rastogi had given him food laced with sedatives before he was murdered.
Fake messages, confession and arrest of the couple
Police said the pair fled to Himachal Pradesh and used Rajput’s mobile phone to text his family, making it appear he was alive and travelling for business. A few days later, however, his family filed a complaint with police saying he was missing.
On 17 March, Rastogi visited her parents after returning from Himachal Pradesh, and her six-year-old daughter asked about her father. Rastogi first blamed her in-laws for the killing. Unconvinced, her parents took her to a police station, where she confessed during interrogation. She and Shukla were then arrested and charged with murder.
Family calls for strict punishment
Rajput’s brother told a Hindi-language news service, “My brother was killed by cruel people.” Rastogi’s parents also demanded strict action against her.
Her father told a news agency, “My daughter, along with a friend, murdered her husband in her own home. She is not fit for this society and is a danger to others.” The source reports that Rastogi gave birth to a second child while in jail.
