Family members of Saurabh Rajput, killed allegedly by his wife Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla, have claimed that occult practices were central to the chilling murder.
Though police have not yet commented on the claims, Rajput's mother Renu Devi said, "Both Muskaan and Sahil were into occult practices. They killed my son by performing tantric rituals."
Rajput's in-laws, Kavita and Pramod Rastogi, alleged it was Sahil who held their daughter Muskan "captive" by making her believe in tantric rituals. He also kept Muskan isolated from her six-year-old daughter, they claimed.
Saurabh Rajput was allegedly drugged and then stabbed to death by his wife and her lover 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 Rajput's family by sending them messages from his phone.
The matter was reported to police on March 18, following which Muskan and Sahil were arrested.
"Sahil's occult practices dominated Muskaan's mind in such a way that she started keeping her six-year-old daughter away. Sahil had made Muskaan an addict and completely superstitious," the deceased's mother said.
Neighbours claimed Sahil frequently dressed in yellow and black kurtas with "Mahakal" inscriptions on them while sporting numerous tattoos of religious and mystical symbols. His room was filled with unsettling imagery, including sketches of ominous figures.
"Many other scary images have also been found in Sahil's room. He used to go out only to feed cats and the lights in his room remained switched off most of the time," a neighbour said.
Meanwhile, Muskan's statements to police indicate that Sahil manipulated her into committing the murder, claiming it was necessary for their new life together.
A source in the police said, "Muskan has made it clear in her statements that Sahil had said that 'you will have to kill Saurabh, only then we can start a new life'."
"Sahil got Muskan to kill her husband. First, he made her sit on Saurabh's chest. Then he brought a knife from the kitchen, showed her how to wield it and directed her to insert the knife in Saurabh's heart thrice.
"When Muskan could not bring herself to use the knife, Sahil held her hand and made her stab an unconscious Saurabh in the heart thrice," the source said.
Asked about the claims about the alleged involvement of occult practices in the case, Superintendent of Police (City) Ayush Vikaram Singh replied, "All aspects of the case are being looked into.
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