Hang her: Parents of Meerut woman who killed husband, hid body in cement drum

The father of the Meerut woman, who along with her lover, are accused of killing her husband and hiding his chopped body in a cement-filled drum, said she could not live without drugs and wanted to get rid of him.

In Short

• Meerut woman killed husband with lover's help, hid body in cement-filled drum
• Accused said they wanted to kill him as he wasn't allowing them to take drugs
• Accused's father demanded her daughter be hanged for committing murder

The Meerut woman who allegedly killed her husband with the help of her lover confessed to her parents that she committed the crime since he used to stop her from taking drugs, her father told India Today TV. According to the father, the woman’s lover, who helped her kill her husband and seal his body in a cement-filled drum, had got her addicted to drugs when their affair began.

The father also said that her daughter, identified as Muskan Rastogi, did not deserve to live and should be hanged.

Saurabh Rajput, the victim, married Muskan Rastogi in 2016 after a love marriage. He had been living with her and their five-year-old daughter in a rented house in Meerut for the past three years. According to the police, Saurabh was last seen on March 4, the day he was murdered. Muskan is accused of murdering Saurabh with the help of her lover Sahil Shukla.

Muskan's father, Pramod Rastogi, said her daughter told him that Saurabh would not let her take drugs and that is why she killed him. "She told me that she could not live without drugs," Pramod Rastogi said.

Stressing that Saurabh was like his son, the accused's father said Muskan lost her right to live and should be hanged as she committed a wrong act. "My daughter has no right to live. He left property worth crores for my daughter," he said.

The accused's mother Kavita Rastogi said her daughter called her on March 17 and told her that she had a fight with Saurabh. She also told her that she would come to her house and tell her more about it.

When Muskan reached home, she started crying and hugging her mother. When her mother asked what had happend, Muskan claimed that Saurabh was stabbed to death with a knife by his family members.

Muskan's distressed father decided to take her to a police station to report the matter. On the way, when Pramod questioned Muskan once again, she confessed that she and her lover, Sahil, had killed Saurabh.

According to Muskan's father, Sahil had studied with her till Class 8 and reconnected with her through social media in 2019.

On her daughter taking drugs, Pramod Rastogi said, "When Saurabh went to London two years ago, she became addicted to drugs. Sahil made her take them."

HOW DID THE MURDER UNFOLD?

During questioning, Muskan and Sahil, who were arrested, confessed to stabbing Saurabh to death. On the night of March 4, Muskan allegedly laced Saurabh's food with sedatives, rendering him unconscious. She then called Sahil to her house. The duo then stabbed Saurabh in the chest with a butcher's knife and then slit his throat.

In an attempt to dispose of the body, they cut off his hands, purchased a large plastic drum, cement and sand from a nearby market the next day, and sealed Saurabh's body inside the drum, hiding it in their house.

The murder came to light after Muskan's parents approached the police, revealing that their daughter had confessed to the crime. Police arrested both Muskan and Sahil, who led them to the house where the body was hidden.

Despite a two-hour effort, police were unable to open the drum due to the hardened cement and had to send it to the mortuary, where the drum was eventually cut open to recover the body.

Police said that Saurabh had told his family he worked in the merchant navy, but he was actually employed at a bakery in London. The incident occurred in Meerut after he recently returned from London.