'Papa drum mein hain': Murdered merchant navy officer's 6-year-old daughter 'might have seen something'

Meerut murder

The six-year-old daughter of Merchant Navy officer Saurabh Rajput, who was allegedly killed by his wife Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla, kept telling neighbours "Papa drum mein hain", Saurabh's mother Renu Devi said. The claim suggests that the child was aware of the murder and what followed.

"They (Muskan and Sahil) murdered my son on March 4 and went for a trip. The house owner had earlier told her to vacate the room for renovation. When they came back, he sent labourers to vacate the room. They could not lift the drum. When they asked her (Muskaan) what was in it, she replied it was full of junk,” Renu Devi said while talking to ANI.

“Neighbours told us that she (their daughter) was saying, ‘Papa drum mein hein.’ She might have seen something, or else why would a child say such a thing?” Renu Devi added.

Renu Devi also alleged that Muskan’s mother knew everything prior. “Her mother knew everything prior...But to mislead things, she (Muskan's mother) said that she (Muskan) reached them to tell them that she had killed him (Saurabh)... Her (Muskan) mother met some lawyer and reached court,” she alleged.

Saurabh married Muskan in 2016 after a love marriage. He had been living with her and their five-year-old daughter in a rented house in Meerut for the past three years. However, Saurabh shifted to London for his work. He came back to Meerut on a break to celebrate his daughter's sixth birthday, was murdered on March 4. His wife Muskaan and her lover Sahil chopped up the body into 15 pieces and buried them under wet cement in a drum, police have said.

According to the police, Saurabh was last seen on March 4, the day he was murdered.

On March 4, Muskan allegedly drugged Saurabh’s food, leaving him unconscious. Sahil then joined her, and they stabbed Saurabh to death. They then dismembered his body in the bathroom, using a razor and knife, the police officials informed.