Missing woman cop found murdered in Keonjhar

Highlights

Her body was buried in a jungle at Ghatagaon

Bhubaneswar: A 25-year-old woman traffic constable, who had been missing since September 6, was found murdered and buried in a jungle in Keonjhar district, police said on Wednesday. Deceased Subhamitra Sahoo, a native of Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district and posted in Bhubaneswar, disappeared after leaving home for duty on September 6, police said.

Subhamitra’s mother Sukanti Sahoo lodged a missing person’s report at the Capital police station here on September 7. On the basis of the complaint, police registered a case and launched an investigation. During the probe, police found that Subhamitra had married a man named Deepak Rout in July 2024, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said.

Deepak, also a police constable, soon became the prime suspect, as Subhamitra was last seen with him in Bhubaneswar, Singh said. According to preliminary investigation, Deepak murdered Subhamitra and buried her body in the jungle in Ghatagaon area in Keonjhar district, around 170 km from Bhubaneswar, Singh said.

Deepak killed Subhamitra most possibly because of financial disputes between them, he said. Singh said Deepak had reportedly taken around Rs 10 lakh from Subhamitra. She had been demanding the money back to organise a social ceremony to formally announce their marriage, the Commissioner added.

A polygraph test was conducted on Deepak and he had been interrogated multiple times since September 8. While Deepak committed the murder, police are suspecting the involvement of others in transporting the body to Keonjhar. Sources said this was Deepak’s second marriage. His first wife had died in a road accident following which he claimed Rs 1 crore insurance payout.

Odisha police had on September 13 announced a Rs 25,000 cash reward to anyone providing information on the missing woman traffic constable. The police social media post had said that she had left for duty from Surya Nagar in Bhubaneswar at around 10 am on September 6. Though her duty ended by 7 pm, she did not return home.

The family members of the woman constable had met the Twin City Commissioner of Police here and sought his help to trace her.