Police probe ‘link’ between death of murder accused’s 1st wife and insurance claim

Bhubaneswar: Arrest of constable Deepak Kumar Rout for allegedly murdering traffic cop and his wife, Subhamitra Sahoo, has prompted police to re-examine the details of his first wife’s death.Rout had claimed that his first wife, who served as a revenue inspector (RI), died in a road accident in Cuttack district in 2022, for which he received a Rs 1 crore insurance payout. After Sahoo’s body was found, investigators discovered she was also insured for Rs 1 crore.“We discovered that Sahoo was insured for Rs 1 crore. 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,” said police commissioner S Dev Datta Singh.Family members of Rout’s first wife have not filed any complaints or made public statements regarding the circumstances of her death. “At this point, there is no complaint suggesting foul play in his first wife’s death. As per Rout’s claim, she was seven months’ pregnant when she died. He claimed that a truck hit her while she was crossing the road near Athagarh in Cuttack,” another police officer said.Police sources said that Rout persuaded Sahoo to purchase a Rs 1 crore term life insurance plan citing her medical history of seizures. After being in a relationship since March 2024, he married Sahoo in a court in July that year, and she was insured following their marriage.