BAREILLY: Muskan Rastogi, the undertrial accused in the chilling “blue drum” murder of her husband Saurabh Rajput, gave birth to a baby girl at Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College on Monday evening. Muskan has named the infant Radha, even as Rajput’s family continues to demand a DNA test, officials said on Wednesday.
According to jail authorities, Radha will spend the first six years of her life inside the Meerut district jail with her mother. SSP (Jail) Viresh Raj Sharma told TOI, “The child will stay with Muskan as per prison rules, which allow children of female inmates to remain in jail until they turn six. She will receive basic facilities, including nutrition, medical support and childcare within the women’s barracks.”
Sharma added that once Radha turns three, she will be enrolled in a pre-school under a supervised programme, with escorted visits outside the jail. When she turns six, the court will determine whether she should be placed with relatives or sent to state care.
Meanwhile, Rajput’s family has insisted on a DNA test to establish whether the child is Saurabh’s or Muskan’s alleged lover, Sahil Shukla’s. District government counsel (crime) Krishna Kumar Chaubey told TOI, “So far, no DNA sampling request has been submitted before the court.”
The murder case is currently at the evidence stage, with statements from nearly all witnesses already recorded. “We will soon move the case towards its final stage,” Chaubey said.
