Rs 4 Crore Seized from Odisha Mines Officer

Bhuvaneswar: In Odisha, the vigilance team seized Rs 4 crore from the flat of a mining department official who was caught in a corruption case. The money was found at the Bhubaneswar flat of Debabrata Mohanty, the deputy director of mines. According to officials, the cash was hidden in trolleys and cupboards, and this is reportedly the largest cash seizure the anti-corruption agency has made so far.

Mohanty was caught on Tuesday night while accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from a limestone trader. He had demanded the bribe promising to facilitate business matters. Following the arrest, simultaneous raids were conducted at Mohanty’s flat in Bhubaneswar, his family home in Bhadrak district, and his office in Cuttack.

During the search, an additional Rs 1.2 lakh was recovered from his office desk. The vigilance team also found that he owned a two-story luxury house in Bhubaneswar and 130 grams of gold. A case has been registered under the anti-corruption law, and the investigation is ongoing. Previously, in 2022, Rs 3.4 crore was seized from the house of an assistant engineer, which was the previous record.