Odisha Police’s Special Task Force (STF) and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) have intensified their investigation into the rescue of five baby orangutans from a forest in Balasore district, with officials now searching for a black SUV reportedly spotted in the area.
Officials suspect that an international wildlife trafficking network could be linked to the presence of the animals in Odisha.
The orangutans were rescued by the forest department from Bichitrapur forest under Bhograi block on Tuesday morning. Investigators are now examining the movements of a black SUV allegedly seen near Badapahi village on Monday night.
So far, the STF has reviewed footage from 55 CCTV cameras installed in Bhograi and nearby Digha in West Bengal.
“We have
verified the vehicles’ movement on Monday night in both places, but so far there has been no breakthrough,” a senior police officer said, adding that the SUV could provide a major clue.
Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia said villagers had reported spotting a black SUV near the location where the orangutans were rescued.
“The CCTV footage also confirmed that such an SUV had passed the area around 11.25 pm on Monday. But the footage could only capture the upper portion of the vehicle and not its registration number. Therefore, it is important to locate the mysterious SUV,” he told reporters.
Public entry into Bichitrapur forest has been restricted by the forest department amid concerns that potential evidence could be disturbed or destroyed, sources said.
Police have also recovered face masks from a black polythene bag found in the area. Investigators suspect the masks could have been used by those who released the orangutans in the forest. However, residents have denied any connection with them, a police official said.
Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (RCCF) Prakash Chandra Gogineni, who also serves as director of the Similipal Tiger Reserve, said circumstantial evidence suggested that the animals may have been brought to Balasore from West Bengal through the Digha-Chandaneswar and Bhograi route.
“The circumstantial evidence strongly indicates that the orangutans were brought to Balasore district from the West Bengal side using the Digha-Chandaneswar and Bhograi route, which passes through rural areas. The wildlife traffickers deliberately avoided national highways and instead used interior village roads to transport the animals,” he said.
Following the forest department’s assessment, STF personnel examined CCTV footage from rural roads, including cameras installed at the Kalaghat toll plaza in West Bengal, an official said.
Gogineni said the discovery of the orangutans pointed towards a possible international trafficking link, noting that the species is not native to India and cannot be legally bred or kept locally.
He said the animals could have been trafficked from Myanmar through the Northeast and into eastern India, using the region’s geography.
Two WCCB teams, from Bhopal and Kolkata, have joined the probe, officials said.
“If the orangutans were brought from Indonesia, there will definitely be international operatives. The international traffickers must also have agents in local areas, either in West Bengal or Odisha. We have to find them,” Gogineni said.
The STF has also visited a Marine Police Station to investigate whether the animals could have been transported through waterways.
“The involvement of international traffickers is suspected because orangutans are not native to India and they fetch around Rs 20-25 lakh each in the international market. There is also a possibility that the animals were transported through waterways, either in ships or fishing trawlers,” an official said.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who is on a five-day business tour of the UAE, ordered a probe into the incident on Thursday. He said the state “will never be allowed to serve as a transit route for the illegal trafficking of exotic wildlife”.
“If any network is found to be involved in this illegal transport, it will be identified, and strict action will be taken in accordance with the law,” Majhi said.
The Chief Minister also directed officials to ensure that the rescued animals receive appropriate medical treatment, security and necessary care in accordance with established wildlife protection protocols while the investigation continues, according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office.
(With inputs from PTI)
