Meerut: On March 6, merchant navy officer Saurabh Rajput’s sister, Chinki, received a WhatsApp message from his number asking if she would be in Meerut for Holi. She answered yes. Another message came through stating he was out and would only return after Holi. Chinki was unaware her brother was dead and his dismembered body buried in a plastic drum filled with cement.
The chilling details of the cold-blooded murder of Saurabh by wife Muskaan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla have been revealed; Muskaan was the one who sent the messages to Chinki from her deceased brother’s phone. Circling then were calls not taken by Saurabh. With rising apprehensions about Saurabh’s condition, the family filed a police complaint.
Then came the exposure by police to Muskaan and Sahil, thus giving way to the grisly story of their extra-marital affair and brutal murder of Saurabh.
Saurabh was in London for work and had flown to India on February 24 for his six-year-old daughter’s birthday. He was staying at a rented house which he had moved to with Muskaan following estrangement with his family.
He was seen escorting his daughter to school for a few days. When afterward nobody saw him, and Muskaan was asked Where was he? She said he was in the hills for a brief holiday. What lay beneath was a most dreadful truth: Muskaan and Sahil had stabbed Saurabh to death, chopped him into 15 pieces, and buried him in cement.
Messages From The Dead
NDTV accessed WhatsApp messages sent to Chinki from Saurabh’s number. An inquiry on March 6: “Will you be in Meerut for Holi?” when she answered yes, he continued that he was south and would return after Holi. On March 8, two days after, asking if he did not take the child along, Saurabh replied with -10 degrees Celsius, and she would have caught flu.
They exchanged Holi greetings. The day after Holi, on March 15, Chinki asked when he would be back as she was going away. He replied he did not know when he would return to Meerut but was planning for a party. She asked her brother to have fun, and he did ask how was Holi at home.
Chinki called on March 16 hoping to talk to Saurabh on WhatsApp but could not. She made other attempts for four calls the next day and they remained unanswered, raising suspicion among the family who decided to go to the police.
The dreadful interrogation led to Muskaan’s and Sahil’s trip to Himachal soon after Saurabh’s murder, together with Saurabh’s phone, which they used for posting pictures and videos on his social media accounts to mislead friends and relatives. They then exchanged replies to messages that would rightfully warrant near suspicion until unanswered calls roused their agitation.
The Return, And The Confession
On Monday, Muskaan and Sahil returned to Meerut. Shortly after returning home, Muskaan told her parents NDTV, “We killed Saurabh.” “We immediately took her to police station. She told us, ‘Mummy, we killed Saurabh’, said Muskaan’s mother Kavita Rastogi.
As of that time, Saurabh’s family had already filed the case. Muskaan and Sahil were taken into custody by the police, who grilled them until they finally confessed to the horrific murder.
“Besides, they figured out an avenue to dispose of Saurabh’s remains – in a drum filled with cement,” the police said. The police are now faced with the arduous task of recovering all the parts of the body. A man tried with a hammer and chisel; he was unable to. Finally, there was the drill. Saurabh’s body’s pieces were recovered and sent for autopsy.
Post-mortem done, the corpse is finally getting to reach home, home of Saurabh. The Merchant Navy Officer married Muskaan in 2016. What it was, was a love marriage. Therefore, eager to get more time with his wife, Saurabh left his Merchant Navy job. But the love marriage and that Saurabh suddenly quit from work were not much appreciated by his family. With friction created at home, Saurabh decided to move out. It was something he had little knowledge about- that he would never return.
The Drugs Angle
While the police have remained silent over the reason for the murder, Muskaan’s parents have alleged that there was a dope addiction aspect to it. Muskaan and Sahil were supposed to be on drugs together and then there is this whole incident of them having killed Saurabh because he is going to stop meeting them. “She told us that her friend (Sahil) feared that Saurabh would stop their drug sessions.”
Mother Kavita said Saurabh always supported Muskaan. “When he left for London, we told him she could stay with us. Muskaan didn’t want to because she did not want restrictions. And Saurabh supported her. He was in London and our daughter lost nearly 10 kg. We thought she was upset he was away. We did not know that Sahil was pushing her to do drugs,” she said.
It’s known that Saurabh has been aware of the affair between Muskaan and Sahil-his very friend, ironically-since 2019. He had even had thoughts of taking a divorce, but had retreated keeping in view his little daughter’s future. She is now six years old and with the Rastogis. Muskaan’s family has stated that justice should be done to Saurabh’s family. “He (Saurabh) gambled everything, leaving his parents and their property worth crores. And she got him killed. He was also our Son,” her mother Kavita said. Asked what punishment they want for their daughter, the couple replied, with teary eyes, “She should be hanged. She has lost the right to live.”
“He Loved Blindly, Our Daughter Was Problem”: Murdered Meerut Man’s In-Laws
The parents of Muskaan Rastogi, arrested for allegedly murdering Merchant Navy officer Saurabh Rajput with her lover’s help, want her to be hanged till death and stress that they are firmly with Saurabh’s family in their fight for justice.
According to police, Saurabh Rajput, a Merchant Navy officer working for a US-based company, came home last month for his six-year-old daughter’s birthday. On March 4, his wife Muskaan and her lover Sahil Shukla stabbed him to death, chopped up his body in 15 pieces and sealed them with cement in a plastic drum.
Following the murder, Muskaan and Sahil left for the hills and used Saurabh’s phone to post pictures to mislead people. The grisly murder came to light after Saurabh’s family, unable to reach him over the phone, filed a complaint with the police and Muskaan and Sahil were grilled. They confessed to the crime and have been arrested. The cement-filled drum was drilled through and pieces of Saurabh’s body were recovered and sent for autopsy.
NDTV spoke to Muskaan’s parents Pramod Kumar Rastogi and Kavita Rastogi at their Meerut home and the couple made no attempts to defend their daughter. On the contrary, they said she must receive the harshest punishment for doing this to Saurabh, who loved her “blindly”.
Here Is The Start And The Crack
Saurabh married Muskan in the year 2016. It was a love marriage. Saurabh resigned from the Merchant Navy job because he wanted to spend more time with his wife. However, this love marriage and his sudden quit decision hurt the family. The whole home was tense and Saurabh decided to leave. He and Muskaan rented a house.
Muskaan and Saurabh welcomed a daughter in the year 2019. The joy was, however, short-lived. Saurabh came to know that Muskaan was having an affair with his friend Sahil. Tension begun building up in the marriage and divorce was an option for consideration.
However, Saurabh finally relented over his daughter’s future. He would rejoin the Merchant Navy. In 2023, he left the country for work. Back at home, Muskaan and Sahil were drawn closer, eventually leading them to hatch plans for a gruesome murder.
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