Bhubaneswar: High-profile honey trap case prime accused Archana Nag Tuesday walked out of Jharpara prison here after remaining behind the bars for around 14 months.
Immediately after her release, she went to a law college to appear for her law examination, for which she had prepared inside the prison.
The Orissa High Court had December 5 granted her bail in an ED case registered against her, paving the way for her release from prison. The court had earlier granted her bail in two other cases filed against her by Bhubaneswar city police.
Nag’s latest bail application was allowed by the court with a bond of Rs 2 lakh. She has been warned to not commit any offence while on bail and asked to deposit her passport with the court. She has also been asked to appear before the courts as and when required.
“I am not the person who will keep mum against injustice. I am neither hiding nor leaving the state. I will fight till the end. The court will take action against all persons involved in the case,” Nag told reporters after coming out of jail.
“I am a law student and abide by the law. Now, the case is sub-judice with the high court and I have faith in the court. I will deposit all evidence and documents before the court,” she added.
After being released from jail, Nag went to a law college in Bhubaneswar to appear for her examination.
The honey trap case accused was arrested in October 2022 after three different cases were registered against her. Her husband Jagabandhu Chand, who was also arrested in the case, is on bail now.
The sensational case had come to light when a woman filed a complaint against an Odia film producer, accusing him of sexually exploiting her. Following this complaint, some purportedly obscene pictures of the producer with the woman went viral on social media.
Later, the film producer also lodged another complaint before Nayapalli police station, alleging that Nag and the woman, who had filed the complaint against him, had made extortion demands of Rs3 crore from him.
Nag and her associates had allegedly extorted crores of rupees from affluent people by blackmailing them of releasing their intimate videos, captured by the accused after honey-trapping them.
Cases were registered against Nag with Nayapalli and Khandagiri police stations in Bhubaneswar in 2022. She was booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code and IT Act.
In the course of the police probe, the ED, alleging the commission of offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), instituted a complaint against Nag and seized a vehicle worth around Rs40 lakh and a three-storey building with an approximate market value of Rs3.6 crore.
PTI