A ₹30,000 Bribe to Record Haul: the searches led to the largest-ever single-operation cash recovery in the history of the Odisha Vigilance Directorate.
Debabrata Mohanty, serving as Deputy Director of Mines, Cuttack, was apprehended by Vigilance officials in the act of allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹30,000 from a licensed businessman. The amount was purportedly demanded in exchange for facilitating unrestricted seamless coal depot operations and issuing necessary transport permissions.
Following the arrest for accepting a bribe, the Vigilance Department launched coordinated simultaneous raids across the three locations of his residential flat in Bhubaneswar, his parental home in Bhadrak district, and his official chamber in Cuttack. The searches recovered over ₹4.27 crore in Hard cash stuffed inside trolley bags and almirahs, ₹1.20 lakh from his office drawer, and approximately 130 grams of gold, while also establishing his ownership of a two-storey residential property in Bhubaneswar.
Searches still underway
Vigilance Director Yeshwant Jethwa has stated that the ongoing investigation has already yielded unprecedented cash seizures, while officials continue to trace further disproportionate assets under a registered case of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
