BHUBANESWAR/KEONJHAR: More than 10 days after a 25-year-old woman constable disappeared from Bhubaneswar, police on Wednesday arrested her husband, also a constable with the Commissionerate Police, on charges of her murder, and uncovered a grisly tale of love, betrayal, greed and cruelty.
Accused Deepak Rout (39), deployed in the accounts section of CP, had strangulated his wife Subhamitra Sahoo in his car on September 6 in a posh residential locality of the capital, packed the body in the boot space and the next day, drove 170 km to Ghatagoan in Keonjhar to bury her with the help of two others. The victim was a traffic constable in the city.
With Subhamitra missing, her family lodged a complaint the next day (September 7) and police launched a massive search, circulated posters and announced a reward on information related to the victim while Deepak returned to join back work.
Though preliminary investigation suggested Deepak murdered Subhamitra over a financial dispute of Rs 13 lakh, angles of insurance death benefit are being probed by the police.
Addressing mediapersons, police commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said as per initial probe, Subhamitra had lent Rs 13 lakh to Deepak for a plot of land. When he did not use the money for the purpose, she demanded the money back, leading to fights between the couple. Deepak then planned the crime, murdered the woman and disposed of her body, said Singh. On the day, a police team exhumed the body from a field by NH-20 near Ghatagaon.
The couple had tied the knot in the office of marriage officer in Khandagiri in July 2024. However, Subhamitra stayed on rent in Surya Nagar while Deepak lived separately in Mahtab Road area as their marriage was not socially solemnised.
Investigation also suggested the victim had sought some additional money from Deepak to conduct their marriage as per rituals which led to frequent fights between them since the last two to three months. Chilling details emerged as police cracked the murder and apprehended Deepak. Sources told this paper that he had invited Subhamitra for lunch on September 6. However, he drove her in his Honda City car to an isolated lane near Surya Nagar, throttled her to death in the car and concealed the body in its boot space.
“He spent the night at his rented house in Mahtab Road with his car parked outside with the victim’s body. In the wee hours of September 7, Deepak drove to Ghatagaon and disposed of Subhamitra’s body with the assistance of his two associates, who are now absconding.
One of them is believed to be his relative while the other could have helped with the burial. After the victim’s parents lodged a complaint, police summoned Deepak for questioning and later conducted a polygraph test on him at the SFSL.
During examination of mobile phone call details and CCTVs installed around Surya Nagar, police established Subhamitra’s last known presence was with Deepak. The victim’s family too suspected his involvement. His inconsistent statements further fuelled investigators’ suspicion.
As investigation progressed, police found that it was Deepak’s second marriage. His first wife had reportedly died in an accident and he had received a Rs 1.5 crore payout from her life insurance policy. Sources said Subhamitra too had an insurance policy of Rs 1.2 crore and police are closely investigating whether Deepak murdered her to receive the death benefit.