Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Tuesday apprehended Debabrata Mohanty, Deputy Director of Mines, Cuttack Circle, Cuttack, while allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from a licensed coal vendor.
According to an official press note, Mohanty was caught red-handed on Tuesday, while taking the bribe from the businessman. The accused had allegedly demanded the illegal gratification in exchange for allowing the smooth functioning of the complainant’s coal depot and for granting permission to transport coal.
Acting on a complaint, Vigilance officials laid a trap and apprehended Mohanty at the time of the transaction. The entire tainted bribe amount of Rs 30,000 was recovered from his possession and subsequently seized in the presence of witnesses.
Following the successful trap, simultaneous searches are being conducted at three locations linked to Mohanty to probe possible accumulation of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The searches are underway from a Disproportionate Assets (DA) angle, officials said.
In this connection, Bhubaneswar Vigilance Police Station Case No. 01 dated February 23, 2026 has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 against the accused Deputy Director of Mines.
Further investigation into the matter is in progress.
