Meerut: A senior police officer Saturday said they would seek to put up Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla, accused of killing her husband Saurabh Rajput, on trial in a fast-track court to secure a swift conviction in the case.
Senior Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada told PTI that the police will prioritise filing a charge sheet in the case as quickly as possible.
“We will try to run the case in a fast-track court so that the accused get punishment as soon as possible,” he said, adding police will seek to take Muskan and Sahil in their custody once their 14-day judicial custody ends.
Rajput was allegedly drugged and then stabbed to death by his wife and her lover on March 4, his body dismembered and sealed inside a drum with cement. The duo then went on a vacation to Himachal Pradesh, all the while misleading Rajput’s family by sending them messages from his phone.
The matter was reported to police on March 18, following which Muskan and Sahil were arrested. The brutality of the murder has attracted nationwide attention.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Meerut Zone) Kalanidhi Naithani has directed the force to conduct a thorough investigation, file a charge sheet promptly and ensure strong prosecution to secure severe punishment.
As part of the investigation, now overseen by an inspector and monitored by an assistant superintendent of police, statements of vendors who sold the knife, drum and cement were being recorded. Police are also investigating the accused’s activities post-murder.
After the murder, Muskan and Sahil checked into a hotel in Himachal Pradesh’s Kasol on March 10 by introducing themselves as husband and wife and left on March 16. The hotel operator said the accused duo’s driver accompanied them.
Muskan and Sahil stayed in their hotel room the whole day and only went out once a day in their car which was unusual, he said.
Meanwhile, a video has been circulating on social media purportedly showing Muskan and Sahil dancing to music at a party.
“In the video, both are seen dancing to DJ music at a party while drenched in the colours of Holi,” a police source said.
The source said Muskan’s online chats and audio she exchanged with the driver of the cab in which she and her lover travelled to Himachal Pradesh were also circulated widely on social media.
“One such video showed Muskan had sent an audio message to the cab driver through WhatsApp, asking him to bring a cake,” the police source added.
Muskan and Rajput got married in 2016 against his family’s wishes, following a relationship and they had a six-year-old daughter. Muskan and Sahil had known each other since school and reconnected via a WhatsApp group in 2019, police said.
