Daijiworld Media Network - Bhubaneshwar

Bhubaneswar, Sep 19: A chilling tale of deceit and greed has emerged in Odisha with the arrest of police constable Deepak Kumar Rout (39), accused of murdering his second wife, traffic constable Subhamitra Sahoo (25).

Subhamitra’s body was recovered from a pit in Keonjhar on Wednesday. Investigators revealed that Rout, along with his relative Binod Bihari Bhuyan (28) and landowner Sambhunath Mohanta, executed the crime on August 26. Mohanta allegedly accepted Rs 5,000 to allow Rout to bury her on his land, with the pit disguised as part of a toilet construction.

The case has now taken a darker turn, reopening questions surrounding the death of Rout’s first wife, Aparna Priyadarshini, a revenue inspector who died in a suspicious road accident in March 2022. On Thursday, Aparna’s family filed a fresh complaint in Dhenkanal, alleging that she too was murdered. They accused Rout of torturing her, forcing her into loans of over Rs 10 lakh, and later pocketing Rs 1 crore in insurance money.

Investigations have further revealed that Subhamitra was also insured for Rs 1 crore, raising suspicions that Rout planned both marriages and deaths for financial gain. According to DCP Jagmohan Meena, Rout hatched the plot to kill Subhamitra following repeated quarrels over money barely weeks after marrying her in July.

The police are now examining whether both deaths were part of a larger premeditated conspiracy built around multiple insurance covers.