Meerut murder: Accused woman asks for govt lawyer, says family is upset with her

Muskan and her lover Sahil Shukla have been lodged in Chaudhary Charan Singh district jail since March 19 after a court sent the duo to judicial custody for 14 days. File.
| Photo Credit: PTI

In judicial custody for allegedly murdering former Merchant Navy officer Saurabh Rajput, his wife Muskan Rastogi has asked for a government lawyer as her family is upset with her, prison officials said

Muskan and her lover Sahil Shukla have been lodged in Chaudhary Charan Singh district jail since March 19 after a court sent the duo to judicial custody for 14 days.

The two accused did not have any visitors since their incarceration, another source said.

Senior Jail Superintendent Sharma said Muskan in her application has said that since the incident, “my parents are angry with me, no one will fight for me. Therefore, I want a government lawyer who can fight my case in the court”.has demanded a government lawyer to fight her case.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Sharma said that Muskan requested to meet him on Saturday.

“If a prisoner demands a government counsel, then it is our duty to provide him/her a lawyer. We have accepted her application and sending it to the court, so that she can be provided a government lawyer. However, Muskan’s lover Sahil has not yet demanded a government lawyer,” he said.

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Jail sources said the duo have been showing signs of extreme distress. “Muskan and Sahil are not able to sleep properly. They are also refusing to eat and drink,” a source said.

Senior Jail Superintendent Viresh Raj Sharma said, “Both Sahil and Muskan have been taking drugs for a long time. Due to this, they are having problems of restlessness and are not even able to sleep at night.” Doctors have prescribed medication to manage their symptoms, and a dedicated team is monitoring their condition, he said. Police investigations have revealed that the two accused consumed drugs and alcohol regularly.

The senior jail superintendent also said that the two accused had sought to stay together in the jail. “But we told them that it is not possible in jail,” he said.

On kind of work given to them in the jail, Mr. Sharma said that no work can be taken from the prisoners for 10 days. “After 10 days, if they want to do any work then we will take a decision.” When asked how Muskan and Sahil are behaving inside the jail, the prison official said that everything is slowly getting back to normal.

He said that since the duo started taking medicines, their condition has improved a lot, and now they have started thinking about their case as well.

Former Merchant Navy officer Saurabh Rajput was drugged and then stabbed to death allegedly by Muskan and Sahil on March 4, his body dismembered and sealed inside a drum with cement. The duo then went on a vacation to Himachal Pradesh, all the while misleading Saurabh’s family by sending them messages from his phone.

The matter was reported to police on March 18, following which they were arrested.

Saurabh and Rajput got married in 2016 against his family’s wishes, following a relationship and they had a six-year-old daughter, police said.