Black SUV Emerges As Key Clue In Odisha Orangutan Smuggling Probe

Bhubaneswar: A black SUV has emerged as a potentially crucial lead in the investigation into how five baby orangutans, native to Southeast Asia, were brought to Odisha and abandoned in a coastal forest in Balasore district, with the Special Task Force (STF) now piecing together a trail of CCTV footage from Digha to Bichitrapur.

The latest footage under scrutiny was recorded near a hotel in Digha in West Bengal and shows a black SUV passing the area at around 10.56 pm. Investigators are examining the vehicle's movements and trying to establish whether it is the same SUV earlier captured on CCTV near Bichitrapur, where the five orangutans were found.

The distance and timing between the two locations could prove significant. An earlier CCTV recording showed a similar black SUV near Bichitrapur at around 11.35 pm — roughly 39 minutes after the vehicle was seen near the Digha hotel.

Investigators are now attempting to reconstruct the vehicle's route during those 39 minutes and determine whether it stopped anywhere en route. They are also examining who was travelling in the vehicle and whether it could have been used to transport the animals.

The latest footage reportedly shows the SUV stopping in front of a hotel, with some people getting out and engaging in a conversation. The hotel was reportedly closed at the time, adding another layer to the investigation.

The STF is searching for the hotel owner and his son, who are reportedly untraceable. The hotel manager and three other persons were being questioned as investigators seek to establish whether the premises or its occupants had any connection with the movement of the suspected vehicle.

Officials, however, had not yet established that the SUV was involved in the transportation of the orangutans. The vehicle's possible connection with the case remains a line of investigation.

The probe has acquired urgency because the five animals — believed to be less than a year old — are not native to India and there is no natural wildlife corridor linking their habitat with Odisha. They were spotted by local residents in a casuarina forest in the Bichitrapur area of Bhograi in Balasore district on September 8 and were subsequently rescued by forest officials.

Their discovery stunned wildlife officials because orangutans are naturally found in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, particularly on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Their sudden appearance in a coastal forest of Odisha has prompted authorities to investigate the possibility that they were brought into India illegally.

The Odisha Police STF and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) are jointly investigating the case. Investigators have been examining CCTV footage, local intelligence and other possible routes used to transport the animals. Mobile tower data and footage from locations along the suspected route are also being examined as part of the effort to identify the people behind the operation.

“I have asked the investigators to examine all angles on how the orangutans landed in Odisha forests. It may take some time, but we want to arrive at a conclusion,” said Odisha Director General of Police (DGP) Vinyatosh Mishra.

More than 100 CCTV cameras installed at hotels and other important locations in and around Digha have reportedly been examined. Investigators are scrutinising the footage for vehicles, people and movements that could help establish the animals' possible route into Odisha.