Subhamitra Sahu, a 25-year-old traffic police constable in Odisha, disappeared after leaving her Bhubaneswar office on September 6, 2024. Investigations revealed that she had secretly married her colleague, 38-year-old police constable Deepak Raut, in July 2024. According to police reports and confessions, Raut murdered Sahu on a desolate road in Bhubaneswar by strangulation after financial disputes escalated, including demand for money repayment and a recently procured ₹1 crore life insurance policy in her name. Raut transported her body in the trunk of his car while participating in the search effort with fellow officers, later burying the body in a forest in Keonjhar district with the assistance of two accomplices. On September 17, 2024, rainfall exposed part of the buried body, leading to its recovery and Raut's arrest. Allegations also emerged from the sister of Raut's first wife, Aparna—a Revenue Inspector who died under suspicious circumstances in 2018—suggesting a pattern of insurance-motivated killings.
Country: India
State/Province: Odisha, India
City/Region: Keonjhar
Incident Type: Domestic Violence Homicide
Relationship Status: Secret Marriage
Relationship Duration: Approximately 2 months (marriage)
Incident Date: Sept. 6, 2024
Relationship Origins:
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How the relationship or connection began.
Approximately 2 months (marriage)
Important relationship phases recorded for this case.
Reported red flags or early concern points.
Contributing factors and possible motives from the available sources.
2024-09-06
Recorded relationship or case outcome.
English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Crime Tak - India · Original language: Hindi
Odisha Police को अपने ही Constable ने दिया धोखा,Biwi का Murder कर लाश जंगल में छिपाई,1 करोड़ मिले
Financial Conflict
The relationship involved a secret court marriage between two police colleagues, concealed from department peers and family. Financial tension surrounding personal money transfers and a large ₹1 crore life insurance policy served as the primary catalyst. The suspect exploited intimate access and departmental knowledge to plan the victim's elimination and misdirect the investigation.
Odisha Police categorized the case as a 'red flag' murder investigation. Three individuals, including primary accused Deepak Raut, were arrested. Investigators cross-referenced toll plaza CCTV footage, vehicle tracking, phone chat records, and temple alibi selfies to dismantle the suspect's misdirection. Authorities are also re-examining the 2018 death of Raut's first wife, Aparna, following claims of a similar insurance motive.
Initial search efforts were misdirected to religious sites in Uttar Pradesh based on phone chat references indicating emotional distress and visits to ashrams. Furthermore, the suspect actively participated in search operations while transporting the victim's body in his trunk, obscuring early suspect identification.
On September 6, 2024, Subhamitra Sahu left her office after receiving a phone call and met Deepak Raut in his car. Raut choked her on a secluded road in Bhubaneswar, stored her body in his vehicle's trunk, and drove to Keonjhar forest, where two accomplices assisted in burying her. Rain erosion later exposed the grave site, enabling police recovery on September 17, 2024.
The case demonstrates extreme lethality risk driven by severe financial motivation, secret intimate relationships, and post-marriage insurance policy procurement. The suspect's knowledge of police procedure enabled prolonged concealment, active misdirection during search operations, and destruction/concealment of evidence.
Secret legal commitments combined with high-value life insurance policies on a partner represent critical violence risk indicators. Perpetrators with institutional law enforcement knowledge may actively embed themselves within investigation teams to delay detection.
Hidden financial transactions, insistence on keeping court marriage secret from family and colleagues, and rapid procurement of a ₹1 crore life insurance policy shortly after marriage were key early warning signs.
Toll plaza CCTV footage capturing the suspect's vehicle heading toward Keonjhar forest, phone chat history revealing financial arguments, and a staged temple selfie used as a false alibi connected the suspect to the crime.
Key evidence includes vehicle toll plaza camera records, recovered phone chat logs, suspicious life insurance policy records, and the exhumed body from Keonjhar forest.
The victim's parents confirmed her identity and stated they were unaware of any marriage to Deepak Raut. The sister of Raut's late first wife testified publicly alleging that Raut previously killed his first wife in 2018 for insurance money.
Initial missing person reports shifted to a homicide investigation upon body recovery, leading to the arrest of Deepak Raut and two accomplices, along with a reopened inquiry into his first wife's 2018 death.
The precise financial trail of how previous insurance proceeds were spent and whether additional victims or financial fraud schemes exist remain subject to ongoing police investigation.