Muskan Rastogi, a woman from Meerut who allegedly drugged and murdered her husband, dismembered his body.
And sealed it in a drum with the help of her lover, had purchased antidepressant medicines days before the crime, officials said on Sunday. According to Meerut drug inspector Piyush Sharma, Rastogi bought three prescription medicines, including antidepressants and sleeping pills, on March 1, three days before she killed her husband, Saurabh Rajput, a merchant navy officer.
On Sunday, Uttar Pradesh officials raided a medical store in Meerut and seized documents confirming that she had purchased the medicines on March 1. However, officials have not yet verified whether these medicines were used to drug her husband before his murder on March 4.
“I won’t draw any conclusions yet, but yes, she used to buy medicines from this store. We have collected records and are investigating whether the medicines purchased were from the NRx category (which requires a prescription), and where they were distributed,” the drug inspector told news agency ANI.
The medical store records revealed that Muskan purchased three types of medicines — an antacid, an anti-anxiety medication, and a Midazolam injection, the officer added.
Muskan, along with her lover Sahil Shukla, killed Saurabh Rajput and sealed his dismembered body in a drum filled with cement. The post-mortem revealed the brutal nature of the crime — Saurabh’s head was severed from the body, both hands were cut off at the wrists, and his legs were bent backwards, suggesting an attempt to fit the body inside the drum.
The cause of death was attributed to shock and excessive bleeding.
Following the murder, Muskan and Sahil travelled to Kasol in Himachal Pradesh, on March 10 and checked into a hotel, posing as husband and wife. Visuals have also surfaced showing the couple partying in Kasol after committing the crime.
The murder came to light when the matter was reported to the police on March 18, leading to the arrest of Muskan and Sahil.