Bhubaneswar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested Archana Nag, accused of blackmailing influential people of Odisha while running a sex racket, under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after producing her in court following completion of 7-day remand.
The agency is probing the proceeds of the crime and had earlier arrested one of her associates, Khageswar Patra, in this connection.
Archana was earlier arrested on October 6 by Khandagiri Police and had since been languishing in Jharpada Special Jail before being taken by ED on remand for questioning in the case.
According to reports, the agency could not elicit any credible information from her as she kept mum throughout the seven days. This despite the fact that Archana had told media that she would fully cooperate with the ED and give ‘earth-shattering leads to the investigators’.
Besides Archana, her husband Jagabandhu Chand was also produced before the SDJM court, Bhubaneswar, in connection with the sextortion racket. The ED has now sought 15-day remand of Jagabandhu and custody of Archana for another seven days to elicit information about financial transactions in the racket. They are likely to be grilled together.
Also Read: ED Seeks 15-Day Remand Of Odisha Honeytrap Kingpin Archana’s Husband Jagabandhu
The couple is accused of amassing over Rs 30 crore by blackmailing high-profile people, including politicians, businessmen and filmmakers using sexually explicit videos. The ED has so far traced Rs 2.5 crore deposited in the accounts of Archana and Jagabandhu between 2017 and 2022.
Meanwhile, Jgabandhu has moved Orissa High Court seeking bail in connection with the sex and extortion case, involving Archana’s aide Shradhanjali Behera. The ADJ court-2 in Bhubaneswar had rejected his bail plea on December 1.
