Bhubaneswar, 25 February (H.S.): In what has been described by officials as the biggest cash recovery in the history of Odisha Vigilance, over ₹4 crore in unaccounted cash was seized from the residence of a senior state mining official on Wednesday.

The anti-corruption agency conducted searches linked to Debabrata Mohanty, Deputy Director of Mines (Cuttack Circle), following his arrest on Tuesday in a trap operation. Mohanty was caught allegedly accepting a ₹30,000 bribe from a licensed coal vendor.

After his apprehension, Vigilance officers launched coordinated searches at several locations associated with Mohanty, including his Bhubaneswar flat in Nature’s Crest Apartments, Shree Vihar, Patia, his parental home in Mathasahi, Bhadrak, and his official chamber in Cuttack.

During the searches, officials recovered a substantial amount of concealed cash — found hidden in trolley bags and cupboards inside his Bhubaneswar residence. The total amount is still being tallied to determine the full value of the seizure. Separately, an additional ₹1.20 lakh was recovered from the accused’s office drawer and personal belongings.

The Vigilance team also identified other assets linked to Mohanty, including a double-storeyed residential building (approx. 2,400 sq ft) in Pahala, Bhubaneswar, and around 130 grams of gold.

Search operations remain ongoing. Officials stated that further details will be released as the investigation progresses.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda