Overview
- Deputy Director of Mines Debabrata Mohanty was caught in a vigilance trap while allegedly taking Rs 30,000 from a licensed coal vendor, with the tainted cash seized on the spot.
- Subsequent searches at his Bhubaneswar flat, his parental house in Bhadrak, and his Cuttack office recovered cash counted at about Rs 4.27 crore, which officials say is a record for the department.
- Investigators also seized cash from his office drawer and recovered gold jewellery and documents pointing to immovable assets, including a double‑storeyed house at Pahala in Bhubaneswar.
- A case under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, has been registered at the Bhubaneswar Vigilance Police Station, and Mohanty was produced before the Vigilance court.
- Vigilance officials say counting and verification of the seized money, valuables, bank accounts and records are continuing, noting Mohanty also has a separate corruption case from 2009 pending trial.