The North News
New Delhi, March 19
A Merchant Navy officer in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, was drugged, murdered, and dismembered before his remains were sealed in a drum with cement, police have said. Investigators believe the crime was orchestrated by the victim’s wife and her lover, according to media reports.
Saurabh Rajput, 30, was killed on 4 March after his wife, Muskaan Rastogi, allegedly laced his food with sleeping pills. Once unconscious, she and her partner, Sahil Shukla, reportedly stabbed him to death before cutting his body into multiple pieces, which they concealed in a drum filled with wet cement. Their plan was to dispose of the remains over time, the Police said.
According to NDTV, Rajput and Rastogi, who had a love marriage in 2016, faced family tensions after he quit his job to spend more time with her. The couple moved into a rented house and had a daughter in 2019. However, their relationship deteriorated when Rajput discovered his wife’s affair with Shukla, a friend. Despite considering divorce, he chose to stay for the sake of their child and rejoined the Merchant Navy in 2023.
Returning home on 24 February to celebrate his daughter’s sixth birthday, Rajput was allegedly murdered days later. His family reported him missing when they were unable to contact him. Police detained Rastogi and Shukla, who, during questioning, confessed to the killing, Meerut City police chief Ayush Vikram Singh told NDTV.
Authorities have recovered Rajput’s remains, which have been sent for an autopsy. The suspects are in custody and will face court proceedings, police said.
