On Wednesday, September 30, former Merchant Navy officer Saurabh Rajput’s murder case has been convicted by Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla. The court- after a trial of about 13 months, Meerut district judge Arvind Kumar Mishra gave his verdict.
The two were found guilty after they were subjected to evidence presented during 126 hearing sessions and 22-plus witnesses. The court hasn’t yet heard the sentence and is likely to listen to arguments on the quantum of punishment before giving the final sentence.
It had become a news story when Rajput’s body was apparently found in a blue plastic drum in the house at Meerut. The prosecution alleges that Rajput died in March 2025, his body was dismembered, and the drum was filled with cement and sand.
Circumstantial, technical and physical evidence was introduced by the prosecution at trial. Witnesses included family members, and shopkeepers who were involved in the buying of objects like the drum, cement, sand and others. Call records and mobile location data were also introduced as evidence in the prosecution.
After the evidence and witness statements, the prosecution and defence gave their final addresses to the court. The prosecution had called for stringent punishment of the accused, and the defence had taken a stand against the allegations.
Since the conviction is now in, the next step in the case will be a sentence. The court is yet to announce the date for pronouncing the final punishment for Muskan and Sahil.