Bhubaneswar: The apprehension of Sri Debabrata Mohanty has officially rewritten the record books of the Odisha Vigilance Directorate, marking a new low in the state’s administrative integrity.
By unearthing over 4 crore rupees in liquid cash from his Bhubaneswar flat, investigators have shattered the previous historical records for cash seizures, effectively crowning Shri Mohanty as the poster child for modern-day bureaucratic avarice.
To put this “highest ever” seizure into perspective, the recovery from Mohanty’s residence completely eclipses former high-profile cases that once shocked the public.
It surpasses the 3.41 crore rupees seized from Assistant Engineer Kartikeswar Raul in 2022 and the 3.12 crore rupees recovered from Additional Sub-Collector Prasanta Kumar Rout in 2023.
While those cases were considered anomalies, Mohanty’s stash—stuffed into trolley bags like discarded waste—suggests a level of corruption that has evolved from simple bribery into a full-scale illicit enterprise.
The sheer audacity of the situation is what bites the hardest. This is an officer who held a significant position of authority in the mining sector, yet was caught red-handed accepting a measly 30,000 rupee bribe from a coal vendor.
The disparity between his secret millions and the petty bribe he was still chasing reveals a man whose greed was truly bottomless. It wasn’t enough to have a double-storeyed palace in Pahala or a massive hoard of gold; he apparently felt the need to pick the pockets of local businessmen for what amounted to pocket change compared to his hidden wealth.
This case is a grim reminder that for some, public service is nothing more than a cover for a private treasury. The history of Odisha Vigilance now has a new, dark milestone, and it bears the name of Debabrata Mohanty.