Post Mortem: Grisly killings expose blue drum murder pattern across India

An India Today investigation, titled 'Post Mortem' with anchor Anjali Estewar, examines a disturbing pattern of 'blue drum murders' across Indian cities where killers used ordinary plastic drums to hide dismembered bodies. In Lucknow, 19-year-old Akshat allegedly shot his father Manvendra Singh and later dismembered the body, claiming 'it happened by mistake'. Police sources reveal he learnt dismemberment techniques from crime-based web series. His younger sister Kirti remained silent for four days, raising questions about complicity. In Meerut's 2025 case, Muskaan Rastogi and lover Sahil Shukla allegedly murdered her husband Saurabh Rajput, a former Merchant Navy officer, by sedating and stabbing him. Muskaan allegedly manipulated Sahil using fake Snapchat accounts impersonating his dead mother. The couple dismembered the body, sealed it in a 220-litre drum with cement, and travelled to Himachal Pradesh to create alibis. Muskaan later confessed to her mother. In Bihar's Muzaffarpur 2021 case, Subhash Sharma received life imprisonment for murdering Rakesh Sahni with the victim's wife Radha Devi, who remains absconding. The investigation highlights how psychological manipulation, obsession and family betrayals turned ordinary blue drums into chambers of horror.