Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Thursday arrested Additional chief engineer of central irrigation circle, Odisha, Rajesh Chandra Mohanty, for allegedly possessing assets worth crores including a three-storey building, a farm house with a two-storey building, eight plots, Rs 6.23 lakh cash, deposits amounting to over Rs 60 lakh and two cars.
The arrest followed simultaneous raids conducted on April 8 at six properties linked to Mohanty across Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, Jajpur, and Dhenkanal districts. Searches, carried out by teams led by one Additional SP, 11 DSPs, nine Inspectors, and supporting staff under warrants from the Special Judge, Vigilance, Cuttack, revealed a range of immovable and movable properties in Mohanty’s name and those of his family members. These include:
1. A palatial triple-storey building over 3000 sqft area at Baramunda Housing Board Colony, Lane-8, Bhubaneswar.
2. One farm house along with a double-storey building over 4000 sqft area on 1.71 acres at Bimbol, Bhapur, Dhenkanal.
3. Eight valuable plots in Bhubaneswar, Kalinga Nagar (Jajpur), and Bhapur, Dhenkanal.
4. Rs 6,23,000 in cash.
5 Deposits amounting to Rs 1.81 crore.
6. Gold ornaments weighing approximately 350 grams.
7. Two four wheelers (Hyundai Sportz & Honda City) and as many two wheelers.
8. Household articles valued at around Rs. 20.61 lakh.
The cash was found stashed in envelopes labelled with project and agreement references, suggesting a systematic practice of suspected bribe collection. These apart, air travel expenses via flight tickets worth Rs. 13.47 lakh, the purpose of which is under scrutiny.
Mohanty, who joined government service on June 2, 1994, as a stipendiary engineer under the Odisha Housing Board on a monthly salary of just Rs. 2,000, rose through the ranks in various water resources and irrigation projects. He became Additional Chief Engineer in July 2021 and was transferred to the Dam Safety wing in February 2026.
Vigilance officials registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018, after uncovering assets allegedly far exceeding his known sources of income. Further investigation is underway to determine the sources of these assets.
