# Death penalty for Muskan Rastogi, Sahil Shukla in blue drum murder case 2026-10-14T11:36:42+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 7 independent outlets (8 source reports) A Meerut district court on Wednesday, 14 October, sentenced Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla to death for the murder of Muskan's husband, Saurabh Rajput, in the blue drum murder case. District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra pronounced the sentence after both were produced through video conferencing. The court also imposed fines of Rs 50,000 under Section 302 and Rs 20,000 under Section 238A. The couple were convicted on 30 September following 126 hearings and testimony from 22 witnesses. Rajput, a former Merchant Navy officer, was killed on 3 March 2025, his dismembered body was found sealed inside a blue drum filled with cement at his home. Rajput's family had demanded the death penalty. Both convicts, in jail since March 2025, will be called again for further proceedings. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The eight sources uniformly report the death sentence, the conviction date, the 126 hearings and the 22 witnesses. Every outlet leads with the sentence and the core facts. Indian Express adds the victim's mother's question to Muskan and the early marriage story, Hindustan Times includes the victim's brother's complaint and the timeline of arrest. India TV News is the only source to state that the body was cut into 15 pieces and to include the timeline table and the convicts' behaviour in jail. ABP Live quotes a lawyer's 'historic verdict' comment and the victim's brother's demand for the death penalty. The Times of India (first source) is unique in reporting Muskan's request to meet her daughter and the jail superintendent's remark that both convicts are anxious. ## Coverage Coverage: 8 sources, 8 neutral - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Leads with convicts requesting to meet daughter - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (2) (neutral report) Straight agency-style death sentence report - indianexpress.com (neutral report) Adds victim's mother quote and marriage backstory - hindustantimes.com (neutral report) Includes fee details and lawyer's quote - thehindu.com (neutral report) Minimalist, brief court report - abplive.com (neutral report) Quotes lawyer on precedent and brother's demand - indiatvnews.com (neutral report) Includes 15 pieces claim and behaviour in jail - deccanherald.com (neutral report) Shortest report, focuses on family severing ties This brief was synthesised by AI from the 8 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Meerut, Muskan Rastogi, Sahil Shukla, Saurabh Rajput Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/death-penalty-for-muskan-rastogi-sahil-shukla-in-blue-drum-murder-case/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/death-penalty-for-muskan-rastogi-sahil-shukla-in-blue-drum-murder-case/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/