Bhubaneswar, February 25 Stacks of cash, packed in trolley bags, were allegedly recovered from the house of an Odisha Mines Department officer, who was arrested in a corruption case, officials said on Wednesday.
A total of Rs 4 crore in cash was seized from an apartment in Bhubaneswar owned by Deputy Director of Mines, Debabrata Mohanty, who was arrested by the state Vigilance Department on Tuesday night, they said.
This is the highest amount of cash seized by the anti-corruption agency in the state, they added.
Mohanty was apprehended while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from a licensed coal vendor in exchange for facilitating smooth operations, officials said.
Following his arrest, the Vigilance Department conducted simultaneous searches at his Bhubaneswar apartment, his parental house in the Bhadrak district, and his office in Cuttack, they said.
In addition, Rs 1.20 lakh in cash was recovered from Mohanty's office drawer, they added.
Other assets detected so far include a large, two-story house in Bhubaneswar and approximately 130 grams of gold.
A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered, officials said.
The previous highest cash seizure made by the agency was Rs 3.4 crore, found at the residence of an assistant engineer in the Minor Irrigation Division in Ganjam district on April 7, 2022.