A honeymoon murder in Meghalaya, a body sealed in a blue drum in Meerut, and a $102-million heist at the Louvre, 2025 saw some of the most shocking crimes in recent memory. Here are five cases that made headlines this year.
The Infamous 'Blue Drum Murder'
In Meerut, 2025's most horrific discovery was made inside a blue drum sealed with cement. The body of Merchant Navy officer Saurabh Rajput was found on March 18, 14 days after he came home for a birthday celebration.
Saurabh had married Muskaan Rastogi for love in 2016. He left his job to spend more time with her, and later went back to the Merchant Navy to support their young daughter. But in those years at home, Muskaan started an affair with Sahil, who was Saurabh's friend.
When Saurabh returned home from an overseas posting in February to celebrate his daughter's sixth birthday, Sahil and Muskaan decided to kill him.
On March 4, Muskaan mixed sleeping pills into Saurabh's dinner. Once he was unconscious, she and Sahil stabbed him, cut his body into pieces, put them in a drum, and sealed it with cement. To avoid suspicion, they travelled to Manali with Saurabh's phone and posted photos on his social media as if he were still alive.
Saurabh Rajput's daughter kept telling neighbours that her father was in the drum, suggesting that the child may have been aware of the murder. The crime came to light when Muskan's mother approached the police, saying that her daughter had confessed to them that she had killed Saurabh. Under police questioning, the couple confessed.
The drum was sealed so tightly that mortuary workers had to use industrial drills to open it.
Read More: Meerut Killers Muskaan, Sahil Made A Mistake That Cost Them Heavily
Honeymoon Turned Trap In Meghalaya
Twelve days after his wedding, 30-year-old Raja Raghuvanshi boarded a flight with his new bride, Sonam, to begin their honeymoon. It was supposed to be the beginning of a peaceful life together. Instead, he was killed.
Raja, the youngest of three brothers from Indore, ran the family's bus transport business. Sonam came from a well-off neighbourhood and handled accounts, supervision, and billing for her family business. The arranged marriage looked perfect on paper.
But behind the happy wedding photos lay a big secret - Sonam was still having an affair with her lover, Raj Kushwaha, a former worker at her family business. Soon after the marriage, Sonam and Raj made a plan to kill Raja during the honeymoon and make it look like an accident.
In Shillong and later Sohra, they tried three times and failed. On May 23, the fourth attempt worked. Three hired men attacked Raja with machetes near Wei Sawdong Falls, while Sonam was there. His body was thrown into a gorge. His phone was switched off.
Days after the murder, Sonam surfaced at a dhaba in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur and was taken into custody. Raj Kushwaha and the hired killers were also arrested.
Read More: 790-Page Chargesheet Filed In Meghalaya Honeymoon Murder Case, Sonam Main Accused
'Black Widow' Of Iran
Some serial killers get caught early, others work in the shadows for years. For 22 years, 56-year-old Kulthum Akbari married elderly, lonely men and murdered them.
At least eleven deaths, possibly as many as fifteen, were attributed to natural causes, old age, diabetes, and high blood pressure. No one suspected anything.
Akbari poisoned the men with diabetes drugs and sedatives. When that didn't work, she suffocated them with towels. After each death, she got property and walked away from relationships she never wanted in the first place.
Her crimes came to light only after the death of 82-year-old Gholamreza Babaei. His son found out that a friend's father had also married the same woman and survived a poisoning attempt. When questioned, Akbari confessed, "I don't know how many I killed. Maybe it was 13 or 15."
Iranian media has dubbed her the "Black Widow." She's waiting for her sentence and could face execution.
Louvre Heist: Seven Minutes That Shocked Paris
Not all crimes in 2025 involved bloodshed. Some were heists so well-planned that they could be turned into movies.
On an October morning in Paris, half an hour after tourists started coming into the Louvre, four masked men showed up along the Seine. Using a vehicle-mounted ladder, they climbed to a second-floor balcony, cut through a window with power tools, and walked into the Apollo gallery.
In seven minutes, they stole eight pieces worth about $102 million. This included the diamond-studded diadem of Empress Eugénie, sapphire pieces worn by Queen Marie-Amelie, and jewels Napoleon I gave to his young bride. They disappeared before guards could react.
Within a month, suspects were arrested, but the jewels are still missing.
Read More: In And Out In 7 Minutes, With Disc Cutters: How Louvre Robbery Was Carried Out
Panipat's ‘Beauty' Murders
This crime story of 2025 isn't about money, infidelity, or inheritance. It's about jealousy so deep it killed three children.
At a family function in Haryana's Panipat, six-year-old Vidhi went missing. Guests thought she was probably playing somewhere. Later, her body was found in a tub of water.
Her aunt, Poonam, had done it. She took Vidhi upstairs, put her in the tub, and drowned her. Then she locked the room and came back downstairs.
Why? Police say she didn't want any girl in the family to look "more beautiful" than her.
This wasn't her first time. She confessed to killing four children - three nieces and her own son - all drowned the same way. Two deaths in 2023 and one earlier this year were thought to be accidents. Only after Vidhi's murder did people see the pattern, and Poonam was caught.
Read More: Panipat's "Killer Mom" Murders Young Son, 3 Nieces
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