Bhubaneswar: Archana Nag, the prime accused in a high-profile honeytrap case that rocked Odisha in 2022, on Saturday levelled serious allegations on some senior BJD leaders and top police officials, accusing them of orchestrating her arrest as a part of a political conspiracy.
Addressing a presser, she alleged that BJD leaders Bobby Das, Manas Mangaraj, and Amaresh Jena plotted to frame her. She further claimed that the then Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh, then ACP Prakash Pal, and Balianta police station IICs Himansu Sahu and Anup Kanungo, were complicit in their plan. “I have proof that the complainant was bribed by BJD to falsely accuse me,” she said, adding that she had audio recordings to support her claims.
Notably, she along with her husband Jagabandhu Chand were arrested in October 2022 after a woman named Shraddhanjali Behera accused the couple of taking her obscene photos and using it to force her into honey-trapping politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats. Later, the ED arrested her under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Archana read out Shraddhanjali’s purported confession at the presser and claimed that the latter was kept insolation by Amaresh Jena.
She further stated that she was pressured not to reveal these names, but denied having any inkling about the reason behind the alleged conspiracy.
She also raised questions on procedural lapses in her arrest. “It was shown that I was arrested on October 6, 2022, but was illegally detained for 48 hours along with my family members, including my son, prior to that. I was detained at Balianta Police though the FIR was filed at Khandagiri police station. It was an arbitrary arrest and I was told about the allegations against me only after six days,” she said.
Recounting her harrowing experience in jail, Archana alleged that police officials, including Singh, Pal and Swain, visited the jail every Saturday under the guise of ‘jail parade’, which was introduced only after she was sent to judicial custody. “A jailor was transferred and they took control of the jail. They only visited me and I was made to consume some drug-laced beverages, following which I would fall unconscious. There was also an attempt to kill me by injecting poison. Had it not been for a few undertrial inmates, I wouldn’t have been alive today,” she said.
She mentioned that they had set some conditions for her release. She was told to accept that she was a psychiatric patient and was asked to leave the state.
She further alleged that the CCTV hard disk collected from her house was deliberately destroyed and that all the devices seized were returned to her after being tampered with. “All evidence was wiped out,” she claimed.
Archana said that she had visited the CM’s grievance cell the previous day and met his additional secretary here. “The government has assured me of an investigation into these allegations and transferred the case to the home department,” she added.