Bhubaneswar, Aug 12 - Orissa's vigilance department Wednesday arrested at least eight people, including mining officials and a mine owner, for their involvement in illegal mining in the state, an official said.

'We have arrested eight people for their involvement in illegal mining,' Vigilance Department Director Anup Kumar Patnaik told IANS.

The vigilance department Tuesday filed cases against nine people after a probe found evidence of illegal mining in Keonjhar district, some 235 km from here, with the complicity of several government officials.

'We did not arrest one person because he has obtained anticipatory bail from the court,' Patnaik said.

Those arrested are two joint directors, a former director, a deputy director, a mining officer, a section officer of the state mining department, a forest range officer and a mine owner.

The vigilance department was last month asked by the state government to investigate illegal mining after opposition parties alleged that it was going on in the mineral rich district in an area of over 36 hectares.