Record ₹4 crore in cash seized from flat of Odisha officer arrested in corruption case

“Stacks of notes packed in trolley bags were allegedly recovered from the house of an Odisha Mines Department officer, who was arrested in a corruption case,” officials said on Wednesday (February 25, 2026).

“A total of ₹4 crore in cash was seized from a flat in Bhubaneswar owned by Deputy Director of Mines Debabrata Mohanty, who was arrested by the State Vigilance Department on Tuesday night,” they said. “This is the highest-ever cash seizure made by the anti-corruption agency in the State,” they added.

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“Mohanty was apprehended while allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹30,000 from a licensed coal vendor in exchange for facilitating smooth operations,” officials said.

“Following his arrest, the Vigilance Department conducted simultaneous searches at his Bhubaneswar flat, his parental house in Bhadrak district, and his office in Cuttack,” they said. “In addition, ₹1.20 lakh in cash was recovered from Mohanty’s office drawer,” they added.

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Other assets detected so far include a palatial double-storey house in Bhubaneswar and approximately 130 gram of gold. “A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered,” officials said.

The previous highest cash seizure made by the agency was ₹3.4 crore, found at the residence of an assistant engineer in the Minor Irrigation Division in Ganjam district on April 7, 2022.