Story perspectives

Meerut Court Sentences Muskan Rastogi, Sahil Shukla to Death

By Drooid · Oct 14, 2026, 4:08 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Meerut court sentenced Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla to death for murdering Saurabh Rajput.
Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra delivered the verdict on October 14, 2026 via video-conference.
Prosecutors said Rastogi sedated Rajput, she and Shukla stabbed and dismembered him.
Police recovered a cement-sealed drum with body parts on March 17, 2025 after the victim’s daughter reported a clue.
The trial lasted 13 months with 126 hearings from 22 witnesses.

History

Historical Context

In 1995, India executed four conspirators convicted for the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, a landmark application of the death penalty after the 1977 moratorium. The Supreme Court of India, led by Justice P.N. Bhagwati, affirmed the sentences, noting that four death penalties satisfied the ‘rarest-of-rare’ standard. Today's Meerut verdict, delivered by Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra via video-conference, mirrors that precedent as Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla receive punishment for a murder. The recurrence reinforces India’s strict enforcement of the ‘rarest-of-rare’ doctrine, prompting law-makers to scrutinize procedural safeguards and forensic standards nationwide.

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Story summary

Meerut court sentenced Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla to death for murdering Saurabh Rajput.
Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra delivered the verdict on October 14, 2026 via video-conference.
Prosecutors said Rastogi sedated Rajput, she and Shukla stabbed and dismembered him.
Police recovered a cement-sealed drum with body parts on March 17, 2025 after the victim’s daughter reported a clue.
The trial lasted 13 months with 126 hearings from 22 witnesses.

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