Meerut blue drum murder: Accused Muskan names newborn 'Radha', in-laws demand DNA test

MEERUT: Muskan, the woman accused of murdering her husband and concealing his body in a cement-filled blue drum, has named her newborn daughter Radha even as her in-laws insist on a DNA test to confirm the child’s parentage, officials said on Wednesday. The baby was born on 24 November at Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College in Meerut — the same day her father, Saurabh Rajput, would have turned a year older.Shagun, head of the hospital’s gynaecology department, said Muskan would be shifted back to the district jail later on Wednesday. Jail authorities said the infant may stay with her mother in the women’s barrack until she turns six and will receive clothing, supplementary nutrition and medical care from the prison administration. Saurabh’s brother, Rahul, reiterated his demand for a DNA test and said he would file a fresh plea in court. Muskan, along with her lover, Sahil Shukla, killed Saurabh, chopped up the body and hid the remains in a blue drum filled with cement. Rahul also sought a DNA test for Muskan’s elder daughter, saying the Rajput family would only take responsibility for the siblings if both were proven to be Saurabh’s biological children.

Otherwise, he said, the family would maintain “no relation” with Muskan or the newborn, claiming that Muskan was “sharp-minded” and posed a threat to the children. Saurabh’s mother, Renu Rajput, supported the demand and said the family would accept the newborn only if her parentage was confirmed. Responding to suggestions that Muskan had “planned” the delivery to coincide with Saurabh’s birthday, hospital officials dismissed the allegation. “The expected date of delivery is only an estimate, and very few women deliver on a specific predicted day,” Shagun said. “The timing of labour was natural and could not have been planned.” According to jail officials, Muskan had chosen the name Krishna had the child been a boy. Saurabh was killed on the night of 4 March at the couple’s home in Indiranagar, Meerut. Police allege that Muskan and Sahil drugged him, stabbed him to death, severed his body and placed the remains in a cement-filled drum before fleeing to Himachal Pradesh. Investigators say Muskan had been planning the murder since November 2023, believing that Saurabh had become an obstacle to her relationship with Sahil.