Businessman Amiyakant Das and Odia film producer Akshaya Parija came before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday to be questioned in relation to the most famous female blackmailer, Archana Nag. Wednesday is expected to see the appearance of another suspect, Sradhanjali Behera, following the initial round of ED interrogation.
However, questions have been raised regarding whether or not the Commissionerate Police is offering the ED the necessary cooperation for the inquiry.
According to reports, Das, the owner of AK Associates, put Rs 10 lakh into Archana and Jagabandhu’s bank account in 2021–2022. Das had previously been asked to appear before the ED in connection with the case, and he did so at around 9:00 a.m. Over eight hours were spent questioning Das.
“I first learned about Archana on Facebook. After leaving the ED office, Das claimed, “I had provided her over Rs 7 lakhs in two instalments for medical expenditures related to the treatment of her husband.
Parija, an Odia film producer, also appeared before the ED today because he had complained about Archana and Sradhanjali for threatening to demand ransom payments of Rs 3 crore. According to sources, the ED summoned Parija to gather any relevant financial transaction evidence.
It is important to note that Parija previously missed a scheduled appearance before the ED, citing illness.
Khageswar Patra, Archana’s business partner, is currently being questioned by the ED by being placed in remand for three additional days after the 10-day period has passed.
Around 15 people, including some politicians, businessmen, and builders, have been subpoenaed by the ED in connection with the Archana money laundering case. In the previous five years, about Rs 2.5 crore have been deposited into Archana’s account. Following their interrogation, bank statements and financial transactions in this regard will be verified.
However, according to sources, Sradhanjali applied for anticipatory bail at the High Court after anticipating arrest. As solely CRPF members are accompanying Khageswar from jail to court, concerns have been raised about whether or not the Commisonerate Police is assisting the ED. Even when the ED authorities seized Archana’s Ford Endeavour a few days earlier, the police allegedly refused to help the ED.
Such a rumour is spreading, as seen when the police disregarded a request from the ED for CCTV footage in order to hunt down the individual who parked the car on the grounds that it was difficult to identify the person in the dark. Additionally, the police are holding up the ED’s request for the list of items taken from the Nag-Chand pair. Numerous ideas have also been sparked by the police’s involvement in the detention of Archana, Jagabandhu, and their associate Khageswar.
For quite some time, Archana Nag has been the subject of high-profile extortion lawsuits and allegations that she amassed vast amounts of disproportionate wealth, including many luxury automobiles and homes in upscale neighbourhoods.
Prasanta Patnaik