Bhubaneswar: The murder of 25-year-old woman traffic constable, Subhamitra Sahoo, has been designated as a Red Flag case, sources said on Friday.
The probe will now be conducted under the direct supervision of the Crime Branch (CB) DGP. Along with coordinated support to the Commissionerate Police, the agency will examine all evidence and data earlier collected by Capital and Khuntuni police. Both CAW (Crime Against Women) and CW (Cyber Wing) units will monitor the case closely.
Sahoo, who went missing after leaving home for duty on September 6, was found buried in a jungle in Keonjhar district, around 170 km away from Bhubaneswar, on September 17. She was allegedly strangled to death by her husband Deepak Rout (39), a constable posted at the office of Bhubaneswar police commissioner.
Odisha Police introduced Red Flag category in 2014 under which cases are investigated on a top priority basis.
Link with first wife’s death
The inquiry will also ascertain a possible link between Subhamitra’s murder and the death of Deepak’s first wife Aparna Priyadarshini in a road accident near Athagarh in Cuttack on March 17, 2022, for which he received Rs 1.5 crore payout from her life insurance policy.
Archana’s sister has lodged a complaint with police and sought a thorough probe into her sibling’s death after it was revealed that Subhamitra too had an insurance policy of Rs 1.2 crore. She submitted a complaint to commissioner of police S Dev Datt Singh alleging that Deepak had possibly killed Aparna too to receive the insurance policy payout.
Singh, in a press briefing, had earlier 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.
While Deepak and Aparna had tied the knot in 2018, he had a court marriage with Subhamitra in July last year.
Two more arrests & suspension
On Thursday, DCP Jagmohan Meena placed Deepak under suspension. His relative and an associate were also arrested for assisting him to dispose of the victim’s body.
Meanwhile, the autopsy samples of the deceased cop have been sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory in Bhubaneswar since the Keonjhar district headquarters hospital lacked facilities to provide a detailed and accurate report on decomposed bodies. Her postmortem was carried out at the DHH in presence of her three brothers.
