Woman held in Bhubaneswar for 'honey-trapping' bigwigs

BHUBANESWAR: Khandagiri police here on Thursday evening arrested a woman for allegedly extorting money from people, including some politicians of different parties by setting honey traps for them. She was identified as Archana Nag ( 25) of Satya Vihar area near Palasuni here.
Though police seized her phone, two pen drives and diary from her, they did not disclose the names of her high-profile clients (victims).Neither police commissioner Saumendra Priyadarshi nor his deputy Prateek Singh spoke about the case to the media. All senior officers avoided questions on her arrest.
"We received Archana Nag as an undertrial prisoner on Thursday evening. She was arrested by Khandagiri police. She was booked for blackmailing, extortion and honey trap," an official of the Jharpada special jail here said.
Police drew flak from several quarters for allegedly keeping mum on the issue. "Whenever police arrest a thief, they would boast before the media and pose for photographs. Since names of some high-profile persons, including politicians, are doing the rounds in the honey trap case, police went the extra mile to hush up the case ahead of the 2024 elections. They secretly produced her in court, Sidharth Das," a senior lawyer said.
Cops on the lookout for her hubby
Sources said Nag allegedly tried to extort money from a noted Ollywood producer by circulating his intimate photos with a girl last week. However, the producer refused to comment.
Police are reportedly looking for her husband Jagabandhu Chand, who has allegedly been part of the honey trap gang. The gang has some women, who would honey trap high-profile persons on social media, develop intimacy with them and would later blackmail them for extortion. Police sources said Nag was wanted in two other sextortion cases in the capital city.