Gorakhpur:
Durga Puja pandals and melas usually follow the same template almost everywhere in India: neon lights, a Ferris wheel with a few safety measures, probably a haunted house and scores of people.
But one setup in the Singhadiya area of Gorakhpur had something more. Effigies of Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla, convicted in the notorious Meerut "Blue Drum" murder case, hang alongside the effigies of demons in its haunted house.
Through the display, the Yuva Golden Chhatra Samiti, a youth student committee, wants to send a message against rising evil and crime in society.
The Meerut "blue drum" case returned to the headlines after a court in Meerut gave its verdict 590 days after Muskan Rastogi, with the help of her lover Sahil Shukla, murdered her husband Saurabh Rajput, a merchant navy officer. The two dosed Rajput with sleeping pills, stabbed him three times with a knife and then used a razor on his throat. They then cut the body into 15 pieces. The pieces were put in a blue drum, which was sealed with wet cement.
Read: Muskaan Rastogi Gets Death. What Husband's Family Said On Daughters' Future
Shivam Chaudhary, a member of the organising committee, said this year's theme differs from previous years. The committee members learnt of the court's verdict on October 15 and decided to bring the subject into their tableau. He said they were satisfied with the verdict and, that same day, hung the effigies of Muskan and Sahil from electricity poles in the middle of the road.
Chaudhary said the display aims to tell the public that those who commit evil acts or crimes in society must ultimately face the consequences. The committee hopes people will learn a lesson from it and become more vigilant against those who engage in wrongdoing. The effigies have also become a major attraction for passers-by.
The pandal is designed as a "haunted cave". It also features automated, spring-operated figures and an electrically powered idol of Goddess Durga. All of these have become major attractions for visitors.
With inputs from Abrar Ahmed