Meerut man killed, chopped into pieces, buried in cement drum by wife and lover

Meerut, Uttar Pradesh: A 35-year-old merchant navy officer was brutally murdered by his estranged wife and her lover just days after he returned from London to celebrate his wife's birthday. The crime took place on March 4 in Meerut’s Brahmpuri region, and the victim’s decomposed body was discovered nearly 15 days later in a rented apartment in Indiranagar, police said on Tuesday.

Saurabh Rajput, a merchant navy officer, returned to India on March 4 but had been missing since then. Following his disappearance, the police grew suspicious of his wife, Muskan Rastogi, and her partner, Sahil Shukla alias Mohit, and called them in for questioning.

Gruesome murder and cover-up

During interrogation, Sahil confessed to the crime, revealing that he and Muskan had stabbed Saurabh to death on March 4.

“During the questioning, Sahil confessed that on March 4, he and Muskan stabbed Saurabh to death. They dismembered the body, put it in a drum and sealed it with cement. The police have recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem,” SP Singh stated.

The body was found after locals alerted the police about a foul smell emanating from the victim’s house. Upon investigation, officers discovered the remains chopped into multiple pieces and sealed inside a water drum filled with cement.

“Police received a tip-off about a foul smell emanating from the victim’s house. Upon investigation, we found his body chopped into multiple pieces and sealed inside a water drum filled with cement, presumably to hasten decomposition,” SP Singh added.

Following the discovery, Muskan and Sahil were arrested and an FIR was registered against them for murder and destruction of evidence.

“The accused, Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla, have been taken into custody and booked for murder and destruction of evidence. They will be produced before the court on Wednesday,” the SP confirmed.

Deception and motive

Saurabh and Muskan had married in 2016 despite their families' disapproval and were living in a rented apartment with their six-year-old daughter. Investigators suspect that after committing the murder, Muskan and Sahil left for a trip to the hills, attempting to cover up their crime.

Muskan reportedly misled Saurabh’s family by pretending he was still alive. Locals reported that she had possession of his phone and was sending messages to his family to avoid suspicion while ignoring their repeated requests to speak to him. The crime was eventually exposed when police recovered Saurabh’s body from the apartment.

(With agency inputs)