Vigilance seized highest ever cash from Deputy Director of Mines Debabrata Mohanty who joined with initial salary of Rs 8000

25 Feb 2026, 15:21 by Subadh Nayak · KalingaTV

Cuttack: Debabrata Mohanty, the Deputy Director of Mines of Cuttack Circle, has been arrested by the Odisha Vigilance and forwarded to the Court of Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar after he was caught red-handed while taking bribe.

What surprised one and all and has become a topic of discussion that Debabrata Mohanty had joined the government service on August 9, 2004 as a Junior Mining Officer (Sr. Surveyor) in the Mining Office, Balangir, with an initial salary of Rs 8,000, but the Vigilance sleuths seized highest ever cash (Rs 4,27,13,600) from his possession.

Have a look at the service details of Debabrata Mohanty:

Debabrata Mohanty (DoB: 07.05.1968) entered into Govt. service on 09.08.2004 as Junior Mining Officer (Sr. Surveyor) in the Mining Office, Balangir. He subsequently worked in the same rank at Baripada from 2006 to 2008, Berhampur from 2009 to 2011, Cuttack from 2011 to 2014, and at the state headquarters in Bhubaneswar from 2014 to 2018.
He was promoted to the rank of Assistant Mining Officer (Chief Surveyor) in the year, March 2018 and joined at Sambalpur. From April 2022 to December 2025, he served as Mining Officer at Phulbani, covering the areas of Phulbani, Boudh, and Nayagarh.
On 07.01.2026, he joined as Deputy Director of Mines, Cuttack Circle, Cuttack and has been continuing as such till date. His jurisdiction includes Cuttack and Kendrapara districts.

Have a look at earlier top cash seizures (in Crore) by Odisha Vigilance:

Cash seizure of Rs.3,41,66,280/- during house searches against Sri Kartikeswar Raul, AE, MI, Bhanjanagar, Ganjam on 07.04.2022.
Cash seizure of Rs.3,12,30,800/- during house searches against Sri Prasanta Kumar Rout, Addl. Sub-Collector, Nawarangpur, Dist-Nawarangpur on 22/23.06.2023.
Cash seizure of Rs.2.56 Crore during house searches against Sri Baikuntha Nath Sarangi, Chief Engineer, Plan Roads, RW Department, Odisha, Bhubaneswar on 30.05.2025.
Cash seizure of Rs.2.08 Crore during house searches against Sri Santanu Mohapatra, DD & PD, Watershed, Malkangiri on 06.02.2025.
Cash seizure of Rs.1,64,00,000/- during house searches against Sri Umesh Chandra Jena, Additional Director, Directorate of Mines, Bhubaneswar on 03.03.2023.
Cash seizure of Rs.1.43 Crore during house searches against Sri Rama Chandra Nepak, Deputy Ranger, Jeypore Forest Range, Koraput on 25.07.2025.
Cash seizure of Rs.1,40,18,070/- during house searches against Ashish Kumar Das, SE, RW Division, Malkangiri on 25.03.2022.
Cash seizure of Rs.1,13,16,720/- during house searches against Dr. Sukant Jena, Gynaecologist, Charichhaka CHC following trap on 16.02.2022.
Cash seizure of Rs.1,06,44,500/- during house searches against Sri Gaya Santara, Joint Manager, IDCOL on 20/21.12.2022.
Cash seizure of Rs.1,01,70,000/- during house searches against Sri Sudhansu Sekhar Mishra, Ex-DFO, Athagarh, Cuttack on 24.02.2016.

It is to be noted here that Debabrata Mohanty was apprehended by the Vigilance yesterday for demanding and taking undue advantage (bribe) of Rs 30,000 from a businessman (licenced coal vendor) in exchange for allowing smooth running of his coal depot and to grant permission to transport coal.

Following the trap, the Vigilance sleuths had launched simultaneous searches during which the following movable and immovable assets were recovered from his residential flat at Bhubaneswar:

Cash Rs 4,27,13,600 unearthed from his rented residential flat at Bhubaneswar and Rs 1.20 lakh from office drawer.
Gold jewellery weighing 305.40 gms & silver ornaments weighing 600 gms.
One palatial double storeyed building with area approx 2400 sqft at Pahala, Bhubaneswar.
Details of investments, deposits, insurance, savings etc. are being ascertained.

Further enquiry on DA angle is in progress. While investigation into the case continues, the accused has been sent to the jail after he was produced before the court today.

Vigilance seized highest ever cash from Deputy Director of Mines Debabrata Mohanty who joined with initial salary of Rs 8000

Also Read: Odisha Vigilance arrests Dy Director of Mines Debabrata Mohanty, Rs 4 crore 27 lakh seized from his flat