Bhubaneswar: When the coal contractor — the whistleblower against mines officer Debabrata Mohanty — developed a cold feet before lodging a written complaint, the timeless wisdom of Bhagwad Gita — choosing the right path, courage and duty over fear — came handy.Mohanty had been demanding a monthly bribe of Rs 40,000 from the coal contractor to allow his business run smoothly, said officials.The contractor initially gave a verbal complaint but backed out when asked to file a formal report, fearing retaliation and damage to his livelihood. He switched off his phone and remained incommunicado.Officials said when the contractor developed cold feet, they tracked him down. “Drawing on the Bhagavad Gita’s teachings, one of our officers counselled him for over three hours. He was reminded of Lord Krishna’s advice to Arjuna — performing one’s duty without fear of consequences and standing for righteousness over corruption. To strengthen our appeal, we even showed him social media clips of the Arjuna-Krishna dialogues,” a vigilance source said.Finally convinced, the contractor lodged a formal complaint, paving the way for Mohanty’s arrest on Thursday, when Rs 4 crore in cash was recovered from his Bhubaneswar flat.“This case had a rare human and philosophical dimension,” the source said.Interestingly, the same vigilance officer had received inputs from this contractor two years ago about another corrupt official, though that case did not materialise. “Maintaining contact over time proved crucial, as the contractor tipped off vigilance about Mohanty two months ago, leading to Thursday’s breakthrough,” the source said.
