NEW DELHI: Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla appeared to have planned an elaborate getaway in the wake of their shocking crime. The duo, accused of murdering Muskan’s husband, former Merchant Navy officer Saurabh Rajput, attempted to evade the authorities by fleeing to Himachal Pradesh immediately after the gruesome act. On March 4, Rajput was drugged, stabbed, dismembered, and his remains were concealed within a cement-filled drum in a chilling murder plot.
‘Presented themselves as husband and wife’
Immediately after the murder, the pair drove away from Meerut and reached Kasol, in Himachal Pradesh, where they checked into a local hotel on March 10. During their six-day stay, they maintained an unusually low profile.
According to the hotel operator, the couple presented themselves as husband and wife and remained secluded in their room, rarely venturing out, as reported by PTI. They avoided interactions with the staff, refused routine housekeeping, and left the room only once daily in a private car.
‘Asked driver to bring a cake’
According to PTI sources, Muskan’s online conversations and audio exchanges with the cab driver, who transported her and her lover to Himachal Pradesh, were widely shared on social media.
“One of the videos revealed that Muskan had sent a voice message to the driver via WhatsApp, requesting him to bring a cake,” the police said.
Another video showed Muskan celebrating her birthday with Sahil, feeding him cake. The duo smiling at the camera, their faces smeared with colours after celebrating Holi, with loud music blaring in the background.
The calculated silence of Muskan and Sahil did little to disguise their frantic attempts at cover-up. Their actions were designed to create an illusion of normality; at check-out, they casually informed the hotel operator that they were returning from Manali en route to Uttar Pradesh.
Also read: Muskan Rastogi, her lover Sahil Shukla played Holi days after murdering Saurabh Rajput
Meanwhile, back in Meerut, a complaint from Rajput’s family finally set the wheels of justice in motion. The case gained momentum when Muskan’s father, Pramod Rastogi, compelled his daughter to confess the horrific details of the murder while on a scooter ride to the police station. It emerged that Muskan, under coercion and influence, had participated in the murder alongside Sahil—her accomplice who allegedly manipulated her into committing the unthinkable.
Post-mortem reveals chilling details
The post-mortem of Saurabh Rajput revealed shocking details about his murder. His head was severed, both hands were amputated, and his legs were bent backward, indicating an attempt to fit the body into a drum. The autopsy confirmed he was stabbed three times in the heart, causing severe bleeding and shock. After dismembering his body, it was sealed in a drum filled with cement, preserving it. The body had to be painstakingly retrieved by cutting open the cement-filled drum.
Police investigations soon uncovered that the body, dismembered and sealed in a cement drum, had been recovered from a house, leading to the arrest of both Muskan and Sahil on March 18. During questioning, Sahil reportedly confessed that on the night of the murder he had instructed Muskan: “You have to kill Saurabh if we are to start a new life.” He allegedly directed her to sit on her unconscious husband’s chest and, when she hesitated, guided her hand as she stabbed him in the heart three times.
Adding another layer to the case, neighbours recalled Sahil’s eerie behaviour; he was often seen wearing kurtas adorned with ‘Mahakal’ inscriptions and was known for his reclusive habits, such as feeding stray cats and keeping his room cloaked in darkness.
Muskan’s mother, Kavita, expressed her anguish and regret that her daughter had never confided in her, attributing Muskan’s secrecy to the possibility of being influenced by drugs or other undisclosed factors.