Odisha Honeytrap Racket: Does ED Plan To Grill Archana & Jagabandhu Face-To-Face?

Bhubaneswar: Unable to get cooperation from Archana Nag, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is reportedly planning to take the honeytrap scandal kingpin and her husband Jagabandhu Chand on remand and question them together about the proceeds of the sextortion racket which rocked Odisha.

After completion of the 7-day remand period, Archana will be produced in the court on Tuesday and the central investigating agency is likely to seek permission to take her on remand again for further grilling.

Similarly, her husband Jagabandhu is also slated to be produced in the court on Tuesday and the ED may seek his remand too.

According to sources, the ED is planning to seek the court’s permission to take both Archana and Jagabandhu on remand and interrogate them face-to-face in an effort to extract information regarding financial transactions in the blackmailing racket.

The move to interrogate the couple together appears to have been planned as the premier probe agency has been unable to extract any useful information from Archana who is virtually maintaining silence.

Though Archana had earlier claimed that she has evidence against many people and will disclose details at an appropriate time, she is reportedly not cooperating with the ED, which has been grilling her over the last week in connection with the proceeds of the racket.

While it was earlier stated that Archana will answer all questions posed by ED, reports suggest that little information was obtained in the probe instituted against her for amassing huge wealth by blackmailing rich and influential persons along with running a sex racket.

While being taken to the ED office on a seven-day remand, Archana had said that he was waiting for ED to take her on remand and would fully cooperate in the probe. She also claimed that she has “exclusive evidence” against some people which will shake the state.

The central probe agency, which had registered a case against Archana, her husband Jagabandhu Chand and associates Shradhanjali Behera and Khageswar Patra under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, has so far grilled around ten people in connection with the honeytrap case.

The ED has also traced Rs 2.5 crore deposited in the accounts of Archana and Jagabandhu between 2017 and 2022.

The couple allegedly amassed over Rs 30 crore by blackmailing high-profile people, including politicians, businessmen and filmmakers using sexually explicit videos