Bhubaneswar: Further stepping up its probe in Odisha honeytrap case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is likely to take Archana Naga and her husband Jagabandhu Chand on remand for interrogation in connection with the sensational blackmailing scandal.
According to sources, the premier central probe agency filed a petition in the district judge court seeking production of Archana and Jagabandhu, who are now in the high-security Jharpada jail in Bhubaneswar after being arrested by the police in the blackmailing case.
As the court reportedly accepted ED’s plea, Archana and Jagabandhu are to be produced before it on November 30.
When the two are produced before the court, the Ed is expected to seek permission for taking the couple on remand for questioning to extract information about huge financial transactions and to ascertain possible involvement of others in the racket.
This apart, the ED also produced Khageswar Patra, associate of Archana and Jagabandhu in the court on completion of the second round of his remand period. The central agency had reportedly sought the court’s permission to take him on further remand for two more days, but its plea was rejected. The ED has already carried out marathon rounds of grilling of Khageswar and is stated to have extracted crucial information.
As the ED gave momentum to its probe, Archana’s former associate Shradhanjali Behera was grilled for about 12 hours and the agency is said to have traced huge deposits in the account.
Filmmaker Akshay Parija also appeared before ED for the second consecutive day on Wednesday in connection with the case. He had lodged a complaint against Archana, alleging that she had demanded Rs 3 crore from him by threatening to release pictures and videos of his intimate moments. Archana had reportedly used Shradhanjali to trap Parija.
On Thursday, Gangadhar Samal, businessman and brother of Dhenkanal MLA Sudhir Samal, appeared before the ED for questioning about financial transactions amounting to Rs 30 lakh made between him and Archana through the former’s car showroom, sources said.
The ED is probing the proceeds of the crime and has registered a money laundering case against Archana, her husband Jagabandhu Chand and their two associates.
Archana and her husband allegedly amassed over Rs 30 crore between 2018 and 2022 by blackmailing and threatening some politicians, businessmen and filmmakers.
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