Woman kills husband with lover's help, hides chopped up body in cement-filled drum

A Meerut woman, Muskan Rastogi, and her lover Sahil were arrested for murdering her husband, Saurabh Rajput, chopping off his body, and hiding it in a cement-filled drum.

In Short

• Merchant Navy officer murdered by wife and her lover in Meerut
• Victim's body found in cement-filled drum after wife's confession
• Wife and lover arrested, body recovered after cutting drum open

A man was allegedly murdered by his wife and her lover, with his dismembered body sealed inside a plastic drum filled with cement in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut, officials said on Wednesday.

The victim, identified as Saurabh Rajput, had recently returned to Meerut from London, where he was working. Saurabh, who married Muskan Rastogi in 2016 after a love marriage, was living with her and their five-year-old daughter in a rented house for the past three years. According to the police, Saurabh was last seen on March 4, the day he was allegedly murdered.

During interrogation, Muskan and her lover, identified as Sahil Shukla, 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 the 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.

Shockingly, after committing the murder, Muskan reportedly went on a vacation to a hill station with Sahil.

The murder came to light after Muskan's mother approached the police, revealing that her 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.

Locals had noticed that Muskan had locked the house and told neighbours that she was going on a trip to Himachal Pradesh with her husband. During this period, she allegedly sent misleading messages from Saurabh's phone to his family to avoid suspicion.

Police have also revealed that Saurabh had told his family he worked in the Merchant Navy, but he was actually employed at a bakery in London.

Meerut SP City Ayush Vikram confirmed the incident, stating, "We received information about a suspected murder in Indira Nagar. During investigation, it was found that Saurabh Rajput, working in the Merchant Navy, had gone missing since March 4. On suspicion, we called his wife Muskan and her lover Sahil for questioning. Both admitted to killing Saurabh with a knife and disposing of the body in a cement-filled drum".

A large crowd gathered outside the house as police retrieved the drum. The remains have been sent for post-mortem, and both accused have been arrested. A case has been registered under relevant sections based on the family's complaint.

Further investigation into the matter is underway.