'Papa is in the drum': Meerut victim's mother claims her 6-year-old granddaughter as saying

The mother of a former Merchant Navy officer, murdered by his wife and her lover, has made a startling claim that his six-year-old daughter knew about her father’s death and said ‘Papa is in the drum’.

The mother of a former Merchant Navy officer, murdered by his wife and her lover, has made a startling claim that his six-year-old daughter knew about her father's death and said 'Papa is in the drum'.

However, police dismissed this claim, saying the girl might have known about it after the gory incident came to light.

Saurabh Rajput's body, which was dismembered and encased in a cement-filled drum, was brought home in Indira Nagar area in Meerut after post-mortem examination. The body was cremated late Wednesday evening.

The deceased's family has alleged that the parents of the accused wife, Muskan Rastogi, were aware of Saurabh's murder well before March 18, when the police were officially informed about the crime.

Saurabh's mother Renu Devi claimed his six-year-old daughter, too, knew about her father's death.

“That is why, as we have come to know from some people, she (Saurabh’s daughter) was saying, ‘Papa is in the drum’,” Renu Devi said.

However, SP City Ayush Vikram Singh dismissed this claim, stating, "When Muskan was telling the story of the incident to the family members, the girl might have been present there. The girl did not know anything (beforehand) about this."