Record ₹4 crore seizure in Odisha Vigilance raid: Dy Director of Mines arrested, bribery case filed

Record ₹4 crore seizure in Odisha Vigilance raid: Cuttack Mines Officer arrested, bribery case filed. (IANS)


The Odisha Vigilance today recovered over Rs 4 crore in cash, the highest ever seizure in the agency’s history, during searches at multiple locations associated with a government official named Debabrata Mohanty, Deputy Director of Mines, Cuttack Circle.

Also, the team recovered Rs 1.20 lakh from his office drawer. Other assets found include a double-storeyed building in Bhubaneswar and approximately 130 grams of gold; searches are ongoing.

The raid was conducted at Mohanty’s residence in Nature Crest Apartment, Shree Vihar, Patia. Vigilance teams carried out simultaneous searches at his Bhubaneswar flat, parental house in Bhadrak, and office chamber in Cuttack

The searches were conducted after the state Vigilance officials apprehended the accused government official for allegedly taking a Rs 30,000 bribe from a licensed coal vendor in exchange for facilitating the complainant to run his coal depot and granting permission to transport coal.

During the raid, the police also seized the entire tainted bribe money from the possession of the accused Deputy Director of Mines.

A case has been filed under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, against Mohanty at the Bhubaneswar Vigilance Police Station.

Notably, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, on Monday, told the State Assembly that the Vigilance Department has registered a total of 416 cases against government officers and employees in the state for taking bribes, committing financial irregularities in government fund and possession of disproportionate assets between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025.