Bhubaneswar: The worst fear of the family of the missing woman traffic constable, Subhamitra Sahoo (25), came true as the police arrested the person, whom they had suspected behind her sudden disappearance on September 6, on Thursday for her murder.
After crime scene reconstruction with accused Deepak Raut (39), her cement-wrapped body was exhumed using a JCB in the presence of a magistrate from a forested area at Ghatagaon in Keonjhar district. Deepak had admitted to having strangled Subhamitra to death inside the car in Bhubaneswar and then buried her body in the forested patch, around 170 km from the state capital.
Briefing the media, Commissionerate of Police (CP) S.Dev Datta Singh said that Subhamitra and Deepak had a court marriage in July 2024. “Deepak is also a constable. He is a prime suspect in the case, which initially appeared a little complicated,” he said.
Elaborating further, he mentioned a chat message of Subhamitra where she expressed feeling frustrated and wanting to retreat or hide somewhere. “Prior to this, they had travelled to Mathura and Varanasi. So, we suspected that she might have moved to a mutt. She neither carried her phone nor any ID proofs. Police teams visited mutts in Mathura, Varanasi and Puri to locate her. Background check of Deepak was done simultaneously. His movement and his call detail records were analysed. Alongside, CCTV footage of all nearby spots from where she went missing were analysed for over 7-8 days,” he said.
The CP said that after evaluating all evidence, police concluded that Deepak might have murdered Subhamitra. “He had taken Rs 10 lakh from her and the chat messages indicate that he might have returned the amount to her. We are investigating whether Subhamitra kept this money. She had also asked Deepak for Rs 20,000 to organise a social ceremony to formally announce their marriage. This had created friction between them and subsequent fights,” he said.
Singh said that evidence strongly indicates that Deepak might have murdered her because of financial disputes among them. “A polygraph test was also conducted on Deepak, who was interrogated multiple times since September 8. While the murder was committed by him, we suspect involvement of others in transporting the body to Keonjhar,” he informed.
The vehicle used in the crime has been seized.
The CP added that further investigation is underway to ascertain whether he plotted the murder to claim Rs 1 crore insurance payout. He had reportedly taken the policy soon after their marriage.
Sources said that this was Deepak’s second marriage. His first wife had died in a road accident following which he claimed a sum of Rs 1 crore insurance payout. He is suspected to have hatched a similar plan after marrying Subhamitra.
The woman constable went missing on September 6 from Surya Nagar. She reported for duty at 10 am but did not return home after her shift ended at 7 pm. Her mother, Sukanti, lodged a missing complaint at Capital police station the following day.