Just 11 days after killing her husband, chopping up his body and leaving it to rot in a cement-lined drum, Muskaan Rastogi was playing Holi with her lover Sahil Shukla in Manali, laughing and posing for a video as if nothing had happened. 

In the video from Holi, which was celebrated on March 14, Muskaan and Sahil can be seen smiling at the camera with their faces covered in colour. They sway lightly, their cheeks pressed against each other while Sahil, who appears to be high, makes some happy gestures with his right hand. Music can be heard in the background and other people can also be seen, indicating that they were celebrating the festival with a group.  

The couple had visited Shimla and Manali after the murder and another video from their Himachal Pradesh trip has surfaced in which Muskaan is seen feeding Sahil a piece of cake before saying “happy birthday” and kissing him. Some photos from the trip also show Muskaan walking in the snow. 

Muskaan and Sahil have been arrested for killing her husband – and Sahil’s friend – former Merchant Navy officer Saurabh Rajput in Meerut on March 3 after drugging him. After killing Saurabh, they chopped up his body into 15 pieces and then dumped it in a drum which they sealed with cement with the intention of disposing of it in a place where it couldn’t be found. Police said they have confessed to the murder.

Multiple Attempts

Muskaan and Saurabh had a love marriage in 2016 and she began an affair with his friend, Sahil, some time later. Saurabh found out about the affair in 2021, after their landlord had spotted Muskaan and Sahil in an “objectionable” position and had also filed for a divorce, but was convinced by his family to stay with his wife. 

Saurabh, who had been working at a bakery in London since 2023, had returned to Meerut on February 24 to celebrate the sixth birthday of his and Muskaan’s daughter. Muskaan had been planning his murder for months and had already purchased two knives, telling the shopkeeper she would use them to cut chicken. She had also pretended to have anxiety so she could visit a doctor and access the pills she would need to make him unconscious before killing him.

Muskaan had also created a Snapchat account and made Sahil, who was into drugs, believe that his dead mother was speaking to him from beyond the grave. She later used this method to convince Sahil that they needed to kill Saurabh. 

Superintendent of Police (Meerut City) Ayush Vikram Singh said Muskaan and Sahil attempted to kill Saurabh on February 25 but failed to do so. They then drugged him and stabbed him to death on March 3. 

The murder had come to light after Muskaan and Sahil returned from their trip. Muskaan had told her mother that she and Sahil had killed Saurabh because they thought he would “stop their drug sessions”.

(With inputs from Shyam Parmar)

Billionaire Elon Musk’s visit to Pentagon has sent Washington in a tizzy. Before the visit, a New York Times report claimed that Musk would be briefed on the US military’s plan for any war that might break out with China. Musk had an 80-minute meeting with defense secretary Pete Hegseth, who later said “there was no war plans. There was no Chinese war plans. There was no secret plans. That’s not what we were doing the Pentagon.” President Trump said “we don’t want to have a potential war with China, but if we did, we’re very well-equipped… but certainly, you wouldn’t show it to a businessman.” 00:00 INTRODUCTION00:20 THE BOMBSHELL REPORT01:00 THE PENTAGON RESPONDS01:22 TRUMP CALLS IT FAKE NEWS02:02 WHY IS MUSK AT THE PENTAGON?02:36 THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST QUESTIONn18oc_world n18oc_crux

Days after Mark Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada, India, on Friday, recalled “the downturn in India-Canada relations”. New Delhi squarely blamed the “licence given to extremists” under Justin Trudeau for the strained ties, hoping to rebuild them after the change in Canada’s leadership.

Justin Trudeau’s ouster was complete last week when Canada’s ruling Liberal Party replaced him with a new prime minister. An entirely new Cabinet was sworn in on March 14. Both Ottawa and New Delhi now hope to rebuild ties, which currently are at a historic low.

On a question regarding Canada at a weekly press briefing, India’s Ministry of External Affairs today said that “The downturn in India-Canada relations was caused by the license that was given to the extremist and secessionist elements in the country”, adding that “Our hope is that we can rebuild our ties based on mutual trust and sensitivity.”

#WATCH | Delhi: On India-Canada relations, MEA Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, “The downturn in India-Canada relations was caused by the license that was given to the extremist and secessionist elements in the country. Our hope is that we can rebuild our ties based on… pic.twitter.com/on36QS3aYr

— ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2025

Shortly before taking oath as Prime Minister, Mark Carney had also expressed his keenness to build on ties with “like-minded countries” and had called the chance to rebuild ties with India as an “opportunity” he would like to work on.

“What Canada will be looking to do is to diversify our trading relationships with like-minded countries – and there are opportunities to rebuild the relationship with India. There needs to be a shared sense of values around that commercial relationship, and once I am the prime minister, I look forward to the opportunity to build that,” he had said.

DOWNTURN IN INDIA-CANADA TIES UNDER JUSTIN TRUDEAU

Ties between India and Canada saw a sharp decline after a surge in incidents of radicalisation and extremism by rouge elements of ‘Khalistani’ separatist groups, which Justin Trudeau permitted, describing them as “free speech” and “freedom of expression”. Effigies of a former Indian prime minister were allowed to be burnt, the Indian flag desecrated and disrespected, Indian Embassy and Consulate staff and premises being threatened and attacked openly, and audio and video clips of India-declared terrorists openly threatening hijacks and attacks on Indian soil, are just a few examples of what happened.

Last year, Justin Trudeau had also attended an event where ‘Khalistan’ slogans were raised as he addressed the gathering. On multiple occasions, Mr Trudeau had, “without a shred of evidence”, accused India of orchestrating the killing of ‘Khalistani’ separatist and designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Justin Trudeau’s government had also designated the Indian High Commissioner and other embassy officials as “persons of interest” in the investigation over the Nijjar case. He was later declared a “persona non grata” by Trudeau’s government, after which New Delhi recalled the then incumbent high commissioner over Canada “going too far”. In a tit-for-tat move, India sent Canadian high commission officials packing home as ties came to a near-standstill.

Later, when Mr Trudeau admitted publicly that he had “no hard evidentiary proof” of the involvement of Indian government officials in the killing of Hardeep Nijjar, New Delhi responded by saying that “The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone.”

For months, India had repeatedly urged Ottawa to “stop providing criminal and secessionist elements a safe haven” in Canada.

“Celebration and glorification of violence should not be a part of any civilized society. Democratic countries which respect the rule of law should not allow intimidation by radical elements in the name of freedom of expression,” India’s foreign ministry had said.

Blaming Justin Trudeau for catering to a vote bank, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said last year that “By allowing political space to ‘Khalistani’ separatist elements, the Canadian government (led by Justin Trudeau) is repeatedly showing that its vote bank is more powerful than its rule of law.”

“India respects and practices freedom of speech, but that does not equate with freedom to threaten foreign diplomats, extend support to separatism or allow political space to elements advocating violence and terror,” he had said.