Odisha Honeytrap Racket: Archana Nag Granted Conditional Bail By HC

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court on Tuesday granted conditional bail to Archana Nag, alleged mastermind in the sensational honeytrap and blackmailing racket.

While approving bail for the lady blackmailer, the High Court directed Archana to extend cooperation in the investigation and not to go outside. The bail was granted in connection with the FIR registered against her for at Nayapalli police station in Bhubaneswar for blackmailing.

The HC earlier on March 14 had sought the status report on the police investigation into the honeytrap racket while hearing the bail plea. The court had asked the police to submit the status report on the progress made in the investigation in the sensational case, sources said.

The High Court had earlier in January called for the case diary relating to her arrest on an FIR registered against her at Nayapalli police station in Bhubaneswar. Archana had moved the HC for regular bail in connection with the sextortion case filed by Ollywood filmmaker Akshay Parija at the Nayapalli police station on October 29, 2022, after rejection of her bail plea by the lower court last year.

Earlier on March 15, the HC had granted conditional bail to Archana’s husband Jagabandhu Chand. He was granted the bail in the same case.

Despite being granted bail, Archana will remain behind bars as two other cases are pending against her. One of the cases is related to money laundering slapped by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), while another involves her former associate Shradhanjali Behera.

Archana was arrested on October 6 last year as the alleged honey-trap network surfaced after Shradhanjali lodged a complaint with Khandagiri police station on October 2. She accused Archana, Jagabandhu and their associate Khageswar Patra of trapping her in their racket, forcing her into prostitution and to blackmail bigwigs.

She is accused of extorting money from influential people by blackmailing them with objectionable videos and is currently lodged in jail.

The ED is investigating financial transactions in the honeytrap racket. Archana and her husband allegedly accumulated assets worth over Rs 30 crore in just four years by extorting money from influential persons through blackmail and honeytrap. The ED has so far traced Rs 2.5 crore deposited in their accounts between 2017 and 2022.