Sextortion case: Orissa HC junks Shradhanjali’s plea, asks her to depose before CBI court

In another major jolt to ‘lady blackmailer’ Archana Nag’s close associate Shradhanjali Behera, the Orissa High Court on Wednesday rejected her petition seeking permission for appearance in the court through her counsel.

The Court further directed Shradhanjali to appear before CBI court in person.

Earlier, the special CBI court had issued a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) against Shradhanjali for not deposing before the court in connection with the sextortion case.

On May 3, the special enforcement directorate (ED) court had also asked Shradhanjali to appear before it in person.

The court had rejected her petition seeking permission to appear before it through her counsel and directed her to depose before it on May 8.

Shradhanjali has been named as an accused in the honeytrap case. 

On January 17, the Orissa High Court had refused to grant Shradhanjali anticipatory bail.

Shradhanjali had moved the HC seeking anticipatory bail apprehending arrest. She has been named in the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the money laundering case against Archana Nag.

Notably, the Police arrested Nag on October 7 last year on charges of honey-trapping bigwigs and extorting money from them. Later, on October 21, Nag’s husband Jagabandhu Chand was also arrested from their Satya Vihar residence in Bhubaneswar. After gathering enough evidence against him, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested him on December 23 last year.