Rs 30,000 bribe sting exposes Rs 4 crore cash hoard, gold & luxury house of Odisha mines officer

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Vigilance officials on Wednesday morning recovered a staggering unaccounted cash of Rs 4 crore from the residence of mines official Debabrata Mohanty, arrested the previous night while allegedly accepting a Rs 30,000 bribe from a coal vendor in Cuttack.According to Vigilance director Yeshwant Jethwa, this involves the highest-ever cash seizure in a trap case in the state.Mohanty, serving as deputy director of mines in Cuttack, had allegedly demanded the bribe from a licenced businessman in exchange for facilitating coal depot operations and granting transport permission.Following his arrest, simultaneous searches were carried out at his flat in Shree Vihar, Patia (Bhubaneswar). Investigators unearthed over Rs 4 crore in cash hidden in trolley bags and almirahs. An additional Rs 1.2 lakh was recovered from his office drawer.Other assets traced so far include a palatial double-storey building at Pahala, Bhubaneswar and around 130 grams of gold. The Vigilance officials are examining the source of the seized wealth and possible links to other irregularities.