Bhubaneswar: In a landmark anti-corruption operation, Odisha Vigilance has achieved its highest-ever cash seizure in history, recovering over Rs 4 crore in unaccounted cash from the Bhubaneswar flat of Debabrata Mohanty, Deputy Director of Mines, Cuttack Circle. This record haul came a day after Mohanty was caught red-handed accepting a ₹30,000 bribe from a licensed coal vendor on Tuesday night (February 24, 2026).
Prior to this case, the largest cash recovery by Odisha Vigilance stood at Rs 3.41 crore, seized during house searches on April 7, 2022, against Kartikeswar Raul, Assistant Engineer in the Minor Irrigation Department, Bhanjanagar, Ganjam district. This long-held record was closely followed by another substantial haul of Rs 3.12 crore, recovered on June 22–23, 2023, from the residence of Prasanta Kumar Rout, Additional Sub-Collector of Nabarangapur district.
In more recent years, Vigilance had recorded several other notable cash seizures in DA cases. On May 30, 2025, Rs 2.56 crore was recovered from Baikuntha Nath Sarangi, Chief Engineer (Plan Roads) in the Roads & Buildings Department, Bhubaneswar.
Earlier that year, on February 6, 2025, Rs 2.08 crore was seized from Santanu Mohapatra, Deputy Director & Project Director, Watershed, Malkangiri. Another significant recovery of Rs 1.64 crore took place on March 3, 2023, from Umesh Chandra Jena, Additional Director in the Directorate of Mines, Bhubaneswar—making it one of the larger seizures linked to the mining department before the current case.
Here is the list of previous top cash seizures by Odisha Vigilance during house searches in DA/trap cases:
- ₹3.42 crore — Sri Kartikeswar Raul, AE, MI, Bhanjanagar, Ganjam (07.04.2022)
- ₹3.12 crore — Sri Prasanta Kumar Rout, Addl. Sub-Collector, Nawarangpur (22/23.06.2023)
- ₹2.56 crore — Sri Baikuntha Nath Sarangi, Chief Engineer, Plan Roads, RW Department, Bhubaneswar (30.05.2025)
- ₹2.08 crore — Sri Santanu Mohapatra, DD & PD, Watershed, Malkangiri (06.02.2025)
- ₹1.64 crore — Sri Umesh Chandra Jena, Additional Director, Directorate of Mines, Bhubaneswar (03.03.2023)
- ₹1.43 crore — Sri Rama Chandra Nepak, Deputy Ranger, Jeypore Forest Range, Koraput (25.07.2025)
- ₹1.40 crore — Ashish Kumar Das, SE, RW Division, Malkangiri (25.03.2022)
- ₹1.13 crore — Dr. Sukant Jena, Gynaecologist, Charichhaka CHC (following trap on 16.02.2022)
- ₹1.06 crore — Sri Gaya Santara, Joint Manager, IDCOL (20/21.12.2022)
- ₹1.02 crore — Sri Sudhansu Sekhar Mishra, Ex-DFO, Athagarh, Cuttack (24.02.2016)
