Naveen Patnaik expresses anguish over gruesome murder of woman constable
Bhubaneswar: Former Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik has spoken out strongly about the shocking murder of 25-year-old traffic constable Subhamitra Sahoo. The young woman went missing from Bhubaneswar on September 6, and her body was discovered ten days later in a tragic case that’s left everyone reeling.
In a heartfelt post on X (formerly Twitter), Patnaik shared his deep shock and pain over the incident. “A young woman constable serving under the Commissionerate Police goes missing from the state capital, and her body is found ten days later. This is heartbreaking and disturbing. I am deeply saddened by Subhamitra’s death,” he wrote. He didn’t hold back on criticizing the police and Odisha’s Home Department, questioning how they could fail to find one of their own for so long. “If the police cannot trace their own personnel for ten days, it is difficult to imagine the condition of common citizens,” Patnaik added.
What makes this even more frustrating, according to Patnaik, is that media reports show Subhamitra’s father had pointed to a suspect right from the start. Yet, the investigation dragged on without quick action, leading to this heartbreaking end. Patnaik linked the case to a bigger problem of crimes against women in Odisha, mentioning past horrors like the gang rapes in Gopalpur and Baliharchandi. He warned that without major changes in how the Home Department and state police work, more tragedies could happen. “The Home Department must immediately wake up from its slumber. Without accountability and reform, more families will continue to lose their daughters. Women’s safety cannot be compromised,” he urged.
For context, Subhamitra’s husband, fellow constable Deepak Kumar Rout, confessed to strangling her on September 6. The couple had been fighting over money—Subhamitra wanted Rs 20 lakh to hold their marriage ceremony in Vedic style. He buried her body in a jungle near Ghatagaon in Keonjhar district, but police eventually cracked the case.
This incident has sparked widespread calls for better women’s safety measures and faster police responses in Odisha, highlighting the urgent need for reforms to protect everyone, especially those on the front lines like constables.
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