By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, November 2, 2022: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday began its probe into the Archana Nag sex scandal case lodging an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIE) over allegations that large amount of money laundering with the connivance of several politicians, businessmen and officials .

ED had earlier taken copies of the first information reports (FIRs) registered by the Bhubaneswar police against Archana Nag, a 28-year-old woman. Nag was alleged to have extorted money from politicians, businessmen and officials between 2018 and 2022 after recording their sexual acts.

Archana Nag, who hails from Kalahandi district, was arrested by the Bhubaneswar Commissionerate Police last month and later forwarded to jail following a complaint by a woman who claimed that she was forcing women into prostitution and then using them to blackmail influential people. The police also seized her mobile phone, laptop, pen drive and computer from her residence. Later, her husband Jagabandhu Chand too was arrested on similar charges.

Cases were also lodged against Chand and her business associates, Khageswar Sahu and Shraddhanjali Behera, under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), sources said.

A five-member team under the leadership of an assistant director has been formed to investigate the matter and collect other evidence. ED is likely to summon more people in the case.

The conspiracy unravelled last month after a girl named Shradddhanjali Behera alleged that Odia film producer Akshay Parija was sexually exploiting her promising her a role in Odia film. After Parija lodged a complaint with the city police alleging that Nag in collusion with Behera were blackmailing him over his obscene pictures and demanding money from him, the latter lodged a complaint with police claiming that Nag laced her drink with an intoxicating substance a few years ago and was blackmailing her after recording some of her obscene photos. She alleged that Nag used to ask her to blackmail influential people including businessmen and politicians.

On Tuesday, Union education minister and senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan said that those linked to Archana Nag’s racket cannot go scot-free as the central agencies have started probing the cases from Delhi.

While the Congress welcomed the ED probe, BJD MLA Amar Satpathy said that the BJP has showed its desperation by raising the central probe issue during Dhamnagar by poll campaigning. “Such negativity and threats are the outcomes of the fear of an imminent defeat in the bypoll,” said Satpathy.