Saurabh Rajput Allegedly Murdered by Muskaan Rastogi, Sahil Shukla, and others, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India
This source-based behavioral analysis does not establish a clinical diagnosis, motive, or legal finding.
The source presents a relationship-centered homicide narrative involving a reported marriage, an alleged extramarital attachment, concealment of remains, and a continuing appeal. It also reports stress and depression in Sahil's prison routine and repeated efforts by Muskaan to meet her older daughter. These observations are behavioral and source-limited; they are not clinical diagnoses and do not establish criminal responsibility.
The reported relationship structure involved Muskaan as Saurabh's wife and Sahil as Muskaan's alleged lover. The source portrays the alleged affair as a competing attachment within the marriage, but it does not establish who initiated it, how long it lasted, or whether the relationship involved coercive control. The later use of one lawyer for both defendants indicates coordinated legal representation, not necessarily emotional reconciliation or family acceptance.
The reported pathway moves from a marital relationship and alleged competing attachment to a homicide, concealment of remains, investigation and conviction, and then coordinated appeals. Post-incident reporting adds prison stress, family-acceptance speculation, and child-care concerns. The source does not provide enough detail to reconstruct the participants' subjective motives or the full pre-incident escalation.
Each entry separates the reported behavior or state from the analytical strength of the available narration.
| Behavior / construct | Person / subject | Detailed case context | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infidelity or competing attachment Relationship stressor | Muskaan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla |
The source explicitly reports that Muskaan and Sahil had an affair. This establishes a competing attachment as a central relationship stressor in the reported case narrative, but it does not establish its duration, emotional intensity, or causal role in the homicide. The source also does not identify who initiated the relationship. Context or trigger: The report describes Sahil as Muskaan's lover while Muskaan was reportedly married to Saurabh Rajput. Reported expression: The alleged affair is presented as a competing romantic attachment within the marriage. It is repeatedly used in the report to explain the relationship configuration surrounding the homicide. |
Explicitly reported Confidence: High |
| Deception or concealment Behavioral pattern | Muskaan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla |
The source describes a deliberate effort to conceal the body from discovery. This is a behavioral fact within the prosecution narrative and may indicate post-incident concealment, but the report does not explain each participant's intent or level of participation. The appellate proceedings mean the reported account remains subject to legal review. Context or trigger: The report describes concealment of Saurabh's remains inside a cement-filled blue drum after the alleged killing. Reported expression: The alleged placement of remains in a drum and covering them with cement represents reported concealment behavior after the incident. |
Narrative-supported psychological state Confidence: Moderate |
| Premeditation and planning Planning or impulsivity | Case-wide |
The report presents several actions and evidence categories together, including a cement-filled drum, communications records, and alleged movement away from the scene. These details may support an inference of planning, but the source does not specify the planning chronology or prove which person performed each act. This observation is therefore an analytical interpretation of the reported evidence summary. Context or trigger: The prosecution evidence reportedly included concealment of remains, call records, last-seen evidence, and alleged flight. Reported expression: The combination of alleged concealment and coordinated circumstantial evidence is presented as suggesting organized actions rather than an isolated reported discovery. |
Analytical inference Confidence: Moderate |
| Staging or evidence concealment Post-offense behavior | Case-wide |
The source describes concealment of the remains in a manner that reportedly became a defining feature of the investigation. Such conduct fits the controlled construct of evidence concealment because it involved hiding the body. The report does not establish the precise purpose, authorship, or legal significance of the concealment beyond the prosecution account. Context or trigger: The body was reportedly concealed in a blue drum and covered with cement. Reported expression: The reported post-incident handling of the remains could have altered the apparent scene and delayed identification. |
Narrative-supported psychological state Confidence: Moderate |
| Relationship decision process Cognitive pattern | Muskaan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla |
The alleged affair required the participants to navigate an overlapping relationship structure. The report offers no direct statement showing whether either participant planned to end the marriage, replace the spouse, or formalize the alleged relationship. It is therefore possible to identify a relationship decision context without inferring the participants' private reasoning. Context or trigger: The report describes an alleged affair overlapping with Muskaan's reported marriage to Saurabh. Reported expression: The reported relationship configuration indicates that a romantic attachment existed alongside the primary marriage, but the source does not describe the participants' stated decisions about staying, leaving, or separating. |
Analytical inference Confidence: Low |
| Depressive symptomatology Emotional state | Sahil Shukla Accused |
The source uses the terms stress and depression in describing Sahil's prison routine. It does not identify a clinician, diagnosis, symptom inventory, or suicidal behavior. The reported exercise may represent an adaptive coping activity, but the psychological meaning and severity of the reported distress cannot be clinically assessed from this material. Context or trigger: A jail official reportedly discussed Sahil's use of the jail gym after the death sentence and appeal filing. Reported expression: Sahil was reported to experience stress and depression and to exercise regularly as a way of managing them. |
Explicitly reported Confidence: Moderate |
| Adaptive coping Coping response | Sahil Shukla Accused |
The reported gym routine is a concrete behavior directed at managing distress. It may be considered an adaptive coping effort because it involves structured physical activity rather than a reported harmful response. The source does not establish whether it improved Sahil's functioning or emotional state. Context or trigger: The report says Sahil attends the Meerut jail gym regularly after receiving a death sentence and filing an appeal. Reported expression: Regular physical exercise is described as a way to manage reported stress and depression in custody. |
Narrative-supported psychological state Confidence: Moderate |
| Separation or abandonment threat Loss or threat | Muskaan Rastogi AccusedWife of the victim |
The jail official reported repeated requests by Muskaan to meet her older daughter. The absence of family visits and separation from her children represent a significant relational loss or threat in the post-conviction period. The source does not describe Muskaan's subjective emotional response beyond the reported wish for contact. Context or trigger: Muskaan was reported to be imprisoned while her older daughter remained outside and no member of her family had visited her. Reported expression: She reportedly repeatedly expressed a desire to meet her older daughter and had not received a family visit. |
Explicitly reported Confidence: High |
Select a stage to expand it; scroll horizontally to follow the full sequence.
The report describes Muskaan as married to Saurabh Rajput and Sahil as her lover. It presents the alleged affair as the central relationship context but does not establish its origin, duration, or the participants' private decisions.
The reported overlap between marriage and alleged affair created a complex relationship structure. The source does not state whether separation, divorce, replacement, or another commitment decision was planned before the homicide.
The focal incident was the reported killing of Saurabh Rajput in Meerut. The source does not provide enough direct behavioral detail to determine the emotional sequence immediately before the death, so escalation is identified only as a reported case pathway rather than a confirmed psychological process.
The report says the body was placed in a blue drum and covered with cement. This alleged post-incident action became central to the investigation and was later discussed alongside recovery, postmortem, and DNA evidence.
The trial court reportedly convicted both defendants and imposed death sentences. The report later describes Sahil's stress and depression and his use of the jail gym, but it does not provide a direct account of either defendant's subjective fear or emotional state.
Both defendants reportedly filed private appeals through the same senior advocate, with the lawyer said to have been appointed by Sahil's family. The arrangement prompted speculation about continuing alignment or family acceptance, but the jail official confirmed only the legal facts and declined to characterize the relationship.
Arrows show the sequence described in the source narrative; they do not prove that one psychological state caused the next event.
The material is a translated news report and video transcript rather than a clinical assessment or complete case file. Several dates and hearing counts are inconsistent, the prosecution evidence is summarized rather than directly presented, and no reliable account of prior threats, violence, diagnoses, or private communications is supplied. Psychological interpretations therefore remain cautious and source-limited.