Bhubaneswar: The police in Odisha’s Cuttack district have served notice on three senior cops over alleged dereliction of duty in connection with the murder of Aparna Priyadarshini, the first wife of constable Deepak Rout.

Rout had allegedly killed Aparna, a Revenue Inspector, in March 2022 to claim the insurance money. However, Rout then claimed that Aparna was killed in a road mishap in Khuntuni area of Cuttack district.

The police reopened the case after Rout allegedly killed his second wife Subhamitra Sahu, a traffic constable, in September last year. According to police, the accused killed Subhamitra to claim Rs 1 crore as insurance money. 

Cuttack Superintendent of Police (Rural) Vinit Agrawal served notice on then SDPO Satyabrata Lenka, Khuntuni police IIC Bhabani Shankar Khuntia and investigating officer Bikash Sethi.

Lenka is now working as the SDPO at Borigumma in Koraput while Khuntia has been posted with the Special Task Force (STF) of the Crime Branch. Sethi is now serving as the IIC (in-charge) of Tangi police in Cuttack.

These three officials have been asked to submit their replies within 15 days. They have been accused of gross callousness in investigating Aparna’s death. The police had then closed the case by terming the incident as an accident.

It is worth mentioning here that the Cuttack Rural Police recently filed a chargesheet against Rout in connection with the death of his first wife.

The cops submitted the 300-page chargesheet in the Athagarh SDJM court. Rout has been charged under multiple Sections of the IPC, including Section 302, 498 A and Section 201.