Diwali behind bars: Blue drum, snakebite case convicts sentenced to death make diyas

Death-row convicts and other inmates are making festive goods and maintaining Meerut jail for Diwali. The work offers wages, vocational skills and support for rehabilitation after release.Muskan Rastogi (left) killed her husband Saurabh Rajput (centre) with the help of her lover Sahil Shukla (right) in March 2025. (Photo: ITGD)Meerut,Nov 7, 2026 02:37 ISTAs Diwali approaches, inmates at Meerut District Jail are busy preparing for the festival behind bars, putting their skills to use in making decorative and festive items. Among them are Muskan Rastogi and Ravita, both sentenced to death along with their lovers, Sahil Shukla and Amardeep, for murdering their husbands in the cases popularly known as the blue drum murder and snakebite murder cases, respectively.While Muskan and Ravita are making diyas and other decorative products, Sahil and Amardeep are engaged in cleaning the prison premises and maintaining its gardens.The women's barracks have turned into a workspace, with inmates making thousands of earthen lamps, colourful candles, candle wicks, decorative garlands and rangoli posters for the festival. Muskan is involved in making diyas and decorative garlands, besides undertaking sewing and embroidery work. Ravita, meanwhile, is making bags.The male inmates have been assigned tasks according to their interests and abilities. Sahil and Amardeep are engaged in cleaning the premises and trimming plants and trees as part of the jail's Diwali preparations. The products made by inmates are displayed for sale at prison outlets, giving them an opportunity to earn wages through their work while allowing their creations to reach customers outside the jail.JAIL BAKERY MAKES MEERUT'S FAMOUS NAAN KHATAIThe prison bakery is another major centre of activity, producing nearly 30 varieties of biscuits along with Meerut's popular naan khatai. The jail administration is working to make these products available through different outlets and government events. Recently, biscuits prepared at the prison bakery were also served during a meeting of officials from 18 districts held in Meerut as part of preparations for the Assembly elections.Senior Jail Superintendent Viresh Raj Sharma said the administration's aim was to assign work to inmates based on their interests and skills so that they could earn money and become financially independent.He said women inmates were preparing diyas, candles, wicks and decorative garlands for Diwali, with the products being sold through jail outlets. The initiative provides them with remuneration while helping them develop skills that could support their rehabilitation after release.Sharma added that football manufacturing was also carried out inside the prison. Footballs made by inmates had even been sent to Australia last year. The administration is particularly focusing on the production of Meerut's well-known naan khatai at the bakery.The broader objective, he said, was to engage inmates in productive work, help them develop vocational skills and prepare them to return to mainstream society.THE MURDER CASES BEHIND THE HEADLINESA Meerut district court sentenced Muskan and her lover Sahil to death in the infamous blue drum murder case for killing her husband, Saurabh Rajput, a Merchant Navy officer. The couple murdered Rajput, dismembered his body and concealed his remains inside a blue drum filled with cement in an attempt to hide the crime.In the separate snakebite murder case, Ravita and her lover Amardeep were also sentenced to death by a Meerut court for killing her husband, Amit Kashyap. The two strangled Kashyap and placed a snake beneath his body to make the death appear to have been caused by a snakebite. The court classified the crime as one of the "rarest of rare" cases.- Ends