Bhubaneswar, Nov 22 (PTI) Film producer Akshay Parija and businessman Amiyakant Das were on Tuesday questioned by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials here in connection with a case of extortion.
Parija, who, according to the police, blew the lid off the extortion case, was grilled for around three hours, and Das for around eight hours, sources in the central agency said.
Summonses for questioning were sent to them by the ED last week, they said.
Parija had last week skipped appearance before the agency, citing health issues.
The agency is looking into a money laundering aspect of the case involving Archana Nag, a 26-year-old woman arrested on charges of blackmailing rich and influential people by threatening to make public photos and videos of their intimate moments.
Her husband Jagabandhu Chand has also been arrested.
Das, following the ED grilling, told reporters that he had given Nag Rs 7 crore for her husband’s treatment.
Parija, however, refused to comment on the case.
Sources in the ED said that Das had transferred Rs 10 lakh to Nag.
Parija had lodged a complaint at Nayapalli police station here in October, accusing Nag and her associate Sradhanjali of demanding Rs 3 crore from him.
He also claimed that Nag and her accomplices had threatened to kill him.
Nag was, however, arrested based on a complaint filed at Khandagiri police station by Sradhanjali, an accused in the FIR lodged by Parija.
Last week, the ED had seized a sports utility vehicle (SUV) belonging to Nag.
The vehicle, valued around Rs 40 lakh, was found abandoned without a number plate, the probe agency said in a statement.
Nag has been accused of amassing over Rs 30 crore along with her husband between 2018 and 2022 by blackmailing and threatening politicians and other influential people.
The ED had earlier said that it seized “incriminating” documents, digital evidence and mobile phones after undertaking searches on premises linked to Nag. PTI AAM RMS RMS
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Source: The Print
