A UP court on Wednesday pronounced death penalty for Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla for the gruesome murder of her husband Saurabh Rajput whose body was found dismembered inside a blue plastic drum filled with cement.
Both the convicts have been sentenced to death Saurabh Rajputs lawyer Vijay Bahadur said informing that an additional seven year prison sentence was also pronounced. A fine of Rs 20,000 was also levied.
The duo were convicted of murder by the District and Sessions Court, presided over by Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra on September 30th, after more than 22 witnesses beared testimony during 126 hearings.
The sentencing proceedings were held amid tight security, with both accused, lodged in Meerut district jail, appearing through video conferencing.
The prosecution stated Muskan and Sahil first mixed sedatives into Saurabh’s food before attacking him while he was asleep. They allegedly took his body to the bathroom, where Sahil chopped off his head and both hands. The body parts were subsequently placed inside a plastic drum and sealed with cement.
Saurabh and Muskaan’s six-year-old daughter had reportedly told neighbours, “Papa is in the drum.”
The duo later fled to Himachal the next day, Rastogi allegedly kept sending messages using Rajputs phone to pretend he was alive and travelling for work.
The murder came to light on Mrch 18th, when Saurabh’s younger brother, Rahul, visited the house and found Muskan with Sahil. Suspicious of her explanation and a foul smell emanating from the house, he alerted others, following which the police were called.
In the morning, Muskaan Rastogi’s parents told the court that Saurabh Rajput was a “very good person”, and if the guilty are sentenced to death, “we will not protest”. Muskaan Rastogi’s family never met her in prison.