Black magic, fake ghost, and manipulation: The sinister tale of Meerut love triangle that killed Saurabh Rajput

When Saurabh Rajput came back to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh from London to celebrate his daughter's birthday, little did he know that he was coming back home to be part of a sinister conspiracy–to get rid of him. All for a love that now spends its days behind bars.

His wife, Muskan Rastogi, is accused of murdering Saurabh Rajput with help from her lover, Sahil Shukla, dismembering his body into 15 pieces and sealing them in a drum with cement. Both have been arrested and a court has sent both the accused to 14-day judicial custody.

The case took a darker turn with revelations of black magic, a fake ghost on Snapchat, Saurabh Rajput’s dubious background in the Merchant Navy, and the alleged involvement of Muskan’s family.

How it happened?

Saurabh reportedly worked at a bakery in London. He landed in India on February 24 for his six-year-old daughter's birthday.

A week after landing in India, on March 4, his wife, Muskan Rastogi, mixed sedatives in his food that knocked him out. Muskan then joined Sahil in stabbing Saurabh to death.

Afterwards, the pair dismembered his body into 15 pieces, hid them in a drum and left for Himachal Pradesh to conceal their crimes.

Muskan and Sahil had already sent the six-year-old girl to her grandmother's house before the murder took place.

The crime has been concocted since November 2023.

“Muskan purchased two knives with long blades, telling the shopkeeper she would use them to cut chicken. She also acted stressed to secure banned sedatives from a local drug store,” a source privy to the case said.

The duo had decided to kill Saurabh Rajput on February 25. Muskan, as per the plan, mixed sedatives in his food and waited for him to lose consciousness. But the sedatives only made him sleep deeply.

The plan failed.

Days passed uneventfully until Muskan and Sahil struck again on March 4—this time, their sinister plan became a horrifying reality.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Ayush Vikram Singh said, “The initial plan was to dispose of the body parts in a secluded location, but the duo eventually decided to keep it inside a large blue drum, filling it with cement and sand.”

Why it happened?

In 2019, Muskan and Sahil rekindled their relationship from a school WhatsApp group and what started as a friendship quickly turned into an affair. Saurabh went to London, and in his absence, the bond between Sahil and Muskan grew.

Sahil allegedly used to take contraband drugs, which he also shared with Muskan. The use of drugs further brought them closer.

And Saurabh was the only thing standing in their way.

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"Prima facie, it appears that Muskan and Sahil considered the husband a hindrance and plotted to murder him," said a police officer.

Muskan and Saurabh have never had a good married life and her affair with Sahil made it even worse. Saurabh planned to divorce Muskan but his family convinced him otherwise.

It was when Muskan planned to leave Saurav and marry Sahil.

Leave how? By killing him.

Meanwhile, the police are also investigating Saurabh's credentials. There is no confirmation on Saurabh's job with the Merchant Navy, and there are reports that he had dropped out after school.

Severed body parts and black magic?

Although no concrete evidence of black magic has been found, reports suggest that Sahil took Saurabh’s head and hands to his room, allegedly for occult rituals.

However, a cop privy to the details of the case said no such evidence had been found.

A fake ghost on Snapchat

Sahil Shukla was superstitious and Muskan, who knew it very well, used it to convince him that they needed to kill Saurabh.

To manipulate Sahil, Muskaan created several fake Snapchat profiles posing as his mother, tricking him into believing he was communicating with her from the beyond.

“Muskaan is a good girl. You will be happy with her,” read one of the messages from Sahil's ghost mother.

Involvement of Muskan's family

Saurabh Rajput's family alleged that the parents of Muskan Rastogi were aware of Saurabh's murder well before March 18, when the police were officially informed about the crime.

Saurabh's mother, Renu Devi, has refuted Muskan's parents' claims of ignorance regarding the murder, accusing them of attempting to mislead the police.

"The truth is that Muskan's mother knew about the crime (before March 18). They went to the police station only to save themselves from legal action," Renu Devi alleged on Wednesday.

(With agency inputs)