In the latest development in the sextortion case, Orissa High Court on Tuesday granted conditional bail to lady blackmailer, Archana Nag.
Nag has been granted bail in connection with the case at Nayapali Police Station involving film producer Akshaya Parija.
While she has been directed to cooperate in the investigation and not to go outside, the other conditions put forth by the court are yet to be known.
Earlier on March 15, the State apex court had granted conditional bail to Jagabandhu Chand, husband of Archana Nag. He was granted the bail in the same Akshaya Parija case.
Despite being granted bail, she will remain behind bars as two more cases are pending against her. The two cases pending against her include the ED case and the Shradhanjali case.
Notably, kingpin Archana was arrested on October 7, 2022 on charges of honey-trapping high-profile people and extorting money from them. Her bail plea was rejected by the Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) court in Bhubaneswar on October 17. Later, the ED arrested her following completion of 7-day police remand.
On October 21, her husband Jagabandhu Chand was arrested from his Satya Vihar residence in Bhubaneswar.
Jaganadhu was arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged at Khandagiri Police Station by a female victim on October 2. The victim mentioned in her complaint that it was Jagabandhu and his aide Khageswar Patra who trapped her. She also mentioned that Archana, Jagabandhu and Khageswar earned crores of rupees by using her.
In a related development, the Special ED court on Tuesday directed that the three mobile phones seized from Archana Nag and her husband be sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL).
The Khandagiri Police has been directed to deposit the mobile phones at the SDJM court.
Notably, following the failure of the State Forensic Laboratory to inspect the mobile phones, the ED moved the Special ED Court, requesting a direction for inspection by the CFSL.