Odisha's Record Corruption Cash Haul: Mines Officer Arrested

A significant corruption case has surfaced in Odisha, with Rs 4 crore in cash recovered from the property of Deputy Director of Mines, Debabrata Mohanty. Following his arrest, simultaneous raids unveiled additional assets linked to him. This marks the anti-corruption agency's largest cash seizure in the state.

In a shocking development, Odisha's state Vigilance Department has arrested Debabrata Mohanty, Deputy Director of Mines, after allegedly discovering Rs 4 crore in cash at his Bhubaneswar flat. This marks the largest cash seizure by the anti-corruption agency in the state's history.

Mohanty was reportedly caught accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from a licensed coal vendor for facilitating smooth operations. In the aftermath, sweeping searches were conducted at his residence, parental home in Bhadrak, and his office in Cuttack, revealing further unaccounted assets.

The investigations unearthed a lavish double-storey house and around 130 grams of gold. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered, while the previous top cash haul stood at Rs 3.4 crore, discovered at an engineer's home in Ganjam district last year.

(With inputs from agencies.)