Odisha Traffic Constable Murder: Colleague Turns Out to Be Husband, Confesses to Killing

Bhubaneswar/Keonjhar: Shocking revelations have emerged in the murder case of traffic constable Subhamitra Sahu, whose body was recovered from a forest in Odisha’s Keonjhar district on Tuesday. Police confirmed that the prime accused, initially believed to be her colleague and lover, was in fact her husband.

The accused, Deepak Rout, also a police constable, had secretly married Subhamitra on July 25, 2023, a marriage certificate unearthed during investigation revealed. This was Rout’s second marriage. His first wife had died under suspicious circumstances, allegedly murdered by him and made to look like an accident, following which he claimed an insurance payout of ₹1 crore.

Police said Rout adopted a similar plan against Subhamitra. During interrogation, he confessed to strangling her inside a car in Bhubaneswar before transporting the body to a forested area in Ghatagaon, where he buried it with the help of two aides. He has since been arrested.

Subhamitra, 25, had gone missing on September 6 after completing her duty under Bhubaneswar Commissionerate Police. Her family lodged a missing complaint, prompting a probe. Call data analysis revealed frequent conversations with Rout, leading to his detention. Further tracking of her last call location helped police recover her body from near Kusunpur forest in Ghatagaon.

Keonjhar police said further investigation is underway to trace Rout’s accomplices and probe deeper into the earlier death of his first wife.