Bhubaneswar: The arrest of Deepak Kumar Rout, a constable working in the accounts department of Police Sewa Bhawan, for the alleged murder of a traffic cop and his wife, Subhamitra Sahoo, has reopened wounds of the family of his first wife, Aparna Priyadarshini.
They are now demanding a fresh probe into her death in a road accident in 2022.
Deepak’s first wife, who served as a revenue inspector (RI) at Tilapada village in Dhenkanal district, died after being hit by a truck while crossing the road near Athagarh in Cuttack on March 17, 2022, for which Deepak received Rs 1.5 crore payout from her life insurance policy. She was seven months’ pregnant when she died, according to police sources.
Speaking to the media, Aparna’s sister said that Deepak had informed them about the accident which allegedly took place near Radhadamodarpur in Khuntuni while they were travelling from Dhenkanal to Bhubaneswar. “He initially asked us to come to the accident spot and then informed us that he had taken her to SCB Medical College and Hospital. Later, we received another call stating that she has been shifted to a private hospital in Cuttack,” she said.
Aparna had died during treatment.
It was termed as an accidental death, though the truck involved in the accident during the subsequent police investigation.
She further stated that they were then convinced with Deepak’s ‘tearful’ story about the accident. “The murder of the woman cop has now made us suspect foul play in the death of my sister. We neither visited the accident spot nor he could then specify how the accident took place. Therefore, we are requesting for a high-level probe into it,” she added.
Deepak and Aparna had tied the knot in 2018.
Her death came under police scanner when investigators discovered that Subhamitra too had an insurance policy of Rs 1.2 crore.
Deepak (39) had a court marriage with the 25-year-old woman constable in July 2024 and allegedly strangled her to death on September 6, the day when she was reported missing, over some financial matters after inviting her for lunch. He then packed the body in the boot space at his home and drove 170 km to Ghatagaon in Keonjhar the following day to bury her with the help of two others, who are absconding.
Subhamitra stayed on rent in Surya Nagar while Deepak lived separately in Mahtab Road area as their marriage was not socially solemnised.
After disposing of her body, Deepak visited the Tarini temple in Ghatagaon, where he prayed and took selfies, showing no signs of remorse. On September 8, he reported for duty as usual and was detained in the evening after investigation revealed that he was the last person seen with Subhamitra in Bhubaneswar.
Elaborating on the possible reason behind the murder, Commissionerate of Police (CP) S.Dev Datta Singh said that Subhamitra’s insistence that he foots the bill for a grand social ceremony to formally announce their marriage had led to frequent quarrels between them. “Although Rout would be aware that deaths due to homicide are not covered under a term life insurance plan, we are still investigating whether he had any intentions to claim the money after her death,” he responded to queries about a possible murder plot.
Meanwhile, Subhamitra’s father Druyodhan Sahoo told the media that Deepak’s elder brother, who is a builder, hatched the plan to murder her. “He is the mastermind. His nephew, who is a doctor, is also involved in her murder. My daughter was scared of syringes. I suspect that they used it to make her unconscious and then smothered her to death using a pillow,” he alleged.
