Bhubaneswar, April 9: Odisha Vigilance has arrested Rajesh Chandra Mohanty, Additional Chief Engineer in the Irrigation Department, on charges of amassing disproportionate assets. Simultaneous raids were carried out at six locations linked to him, including his office, residences, farmhouse, and relatives’ houses in Dhenkanal and Jajpur districts.During the searches, officials detected assets worth over ₹8 crore, comprising both movable and immovable properties.According to Vigilance sources, Mohanty allegedly demanded money for official work and maintained undisclosed partnerships with contractors. He is also suspected of investing unaccounted money through contractors to generate profits.The action followed multiple petitions received against him in 2025. Based on preliminary verification, Vigilance secured court permission and conducted the raids on Wednesday.Key assets unearthed include a three-storey house in Barmunda Housing Board Colony, Bhubaneswar, a luxury farmhouse in Dhenkanal, multiple plots across Bhubaneswar, Jajpur, and Dhenkanal, over 20 costly wristwatches, gold ornaments weighing around 350 grams, ₹6.23 lakh in cash, bank deposits of ₹1.70 crore, and several vehicles.Investigators also found that Mohanty spent ₹13.47 lakh on air travel in 2025 alone. His financial transactions and travel details are currently under scrutiny.Mohanty joined service in 1994 as a stipendiary engineer and rose through the ranks to become Additional Chief Engineer in 2021. He was recently posted in the Dam Safety wing under the Engineer-in-Chief earlier this year.Further investigation is underway.
