CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has refused to grant bail to a foreign national accused in a high-profile abetment of suicide case linked to alleged blackmail and immigration violations.
The bail application was filed by Djedje Raymond alias Chijioke John Okoye, a Nigerian who was arrested from Delhi by the Cuttack police on March 24 last year. The 31-year-old resident of Abidjan in Nigeria is accused of abetting the suicide of a lady doctor in Cuttack on March 1, 2025.
He is facing the charges in connection with Dargha Bazar Police Station Case (2025), currently pending before the District & Sessions Judge, Cuttack. While charge sheet in the case has been submitted under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Information Technology Act, the Passports Act, 1967, and the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, Okoye had filed a bail petition in the high court on December 22.
After examining the case records and submissions on April 9, Justice Gourishankar Satapathy observed that the allegations were serious in nature, involving not only abetment of suicide but also forgery and illegal stay in the country.
According to the prosecution, the accused blackmailed the deceased woman, coercing her to part with money over a personal relationship. The victim is said to have died by suicide, leaving behind a note blaming the petitioner for sustained harassment.
Additional public prosecutor RB Mishra, relying on the suicide note, argued that the accused had been regularly threatening the victim via phone, which was later tracked and recovered during the investigation. The prosecution further contended that the petitioner is a foreign national who had overstayed in India since April 11, 2020, without valid documentation.
Investigators verified his travel records through the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), Hyderabad, which confirmed that he had entered India on November 23, 2019, on a tourist visa. However, subsequent verification revealed discrepancies, including the use of a visa number belonging to another individual and a forged visa sticker, suggesting impersonation.
Considering the gravity of the offences and the prima facie evidence on record, Justice Satapathy declined to grant bail to the petitioner, stating that it was not inclined to exercise discretion in his favour at this stage and accordingly rejected the bail petition.