3 min readBhubaneswarUpdated: Apr 13, 2026 07:05 PM IST
When 23-year-old Soumya Sagar Samal closed his shop and left for home on April 6, he told his wife he would arrive within the next half hour. He never did; on the way, bike-borne assailants opened fire on him at Kalimegha in Odisha’s Jajpur town and fled the spot. Soumya succumbed hours later at SCB Medical College in Cuttack.
The Jajpur Police on Monday arrested five persons, including Soumya’s wife, Subhasree Behera, who had allegedly shared his location with the killers. Soumya, a native of Kuansarapur in Jajpur, and Subhasree tied the knot a year and a half back in a love marriage and were staying on rent in Jajpur.
Police suspect marital discord and a love triangle led to the killing.
“On the day of the incident, his wife was allegedly providing Soumya’s location details to the accused. We have call records, including WhatsApp call details,” said Jajpur Superintendent of Police Yashpratap Shrimal.
Technical evidence and analysis of Subhasree’s mobile suggested that she was allegedly in a relationship with one Priti Prava Priyadarsini for the past six years, and both ran a beauty parlour together in Jajpur town, said the SP.
During a visit to Priti’s home, Subhasree met her cousin, Tapas Khilar, and they too got into a relationship, the police said. Tapas asked Subhasree to divorce her husband, but she told him that was not possible.
Police said that when Soumya discovered Subhasree’s relationships, he threatened all of them to stop. On March 4, the deceased and Tapas allegedly had a heated argument, the police investigation revealed.
Story continues below this ad
According to the police, the cousins allegedly planned the murder and told Subhasree about it.
Investigation revealed that there was a UPI transaction of Rs 49,000 in phases to gun smugglers Suraj Singh and Ankit Thakur at Rourkela to purchase a pistol. Tapas, who stays in Rourkela and worked as a driver, took the pistol from them after paying another Rs 9,000 on March 27 and received training on how to fire the weapon.
On April 6, between 10:30 and 10:45 pm, he allegedly opened fire at Soumya after getting inputs about his location. Afterwards, Tapas returned home and concealed the murder weapon in a bushy area. The weapon has now been recovered, and five people – Subhasree, Priti, Tapas, Ankit and Sujaj – have been arrested in connection with the murder.
