Bhubaneswar: The mystery behind the disappearance of a woman traffic constable from Bhubaneswar seemed to have taken a tragic turn with police finding that she was allegedly murdered by her male friend, who is also a constable.
As per information, police detained the woman’s lover, identified as Deepak Rout, who reportedly works as a clerk with the Twin City Police Commissioner’s Office.
Sources said Deepak, who was interrogated, confessed to strangling the 25-year-old traffic constable, Subhamitra Sahoo, following a dispute. After the murder, he allegedly transported her body in a car from Bhubaneswar and hid it in a forest area of Keonjhar district.
Meanwhile, a woman’s body has been recovered near Ghatagaon in Keonjhar district. While the body is suspected to be that of Subhamitra, the police are yet to officially confirm. The police, along with a scientific team, have recovered the body, and the identification process is in progress.
Forensic and scientific teams have been pressed into service to assist in confirming the victim’s identity. However, no official confirmation has yet been made linking the discovery directly to the missing constable.
The family of Shubhamitra, a native of Pichukuli area of Khurda and posted with Bhubaneswar traffic police, has been informed. Efforts are on to ascertain the identity of the recovered body.
During interrogation by the police, Deepak admitted that he killed Subhamitra by strangulation. Police have seized the vehicle used in the crime and dispatched a special squad to Keonjhar to recover the body.
Notably, Subhamitra was reported missing on September 6, when she failed to return home after her duty. The Commissionerate Police had even announced a cash reward of Rs 25,000 for credible information about her whereabouts.
In another revelation regarding Deepak, he had recently received Rs 1 crore from an insurance company after the death of his wife. Though it was alleged that Deepak murdered his wife, he had told the police that an accident caused her death, police sources said.
It was further claimed that CCTV footage and toll gate records reportedly confirmed that Deepak was driving a car in which Shubhamitra was present, heading towards Tarini Temple in Keonjhar.
Family members had earlier raised concerns about Deepak’s possible involvement and urged police to question him. It was also revealed that Rout had remained absent from duty for two days after Shubhamitra’s disappearance before quietly resuming work.
Despite extensive search operations over the last 12 days, Shubhamitra had remained untraceable.
Senior officers have been monitoring the investigation closely. As of now, Commissionerate Police have not issued any official statement on the latest findings in the case.
