No breakthrough in probe into trafficking of five orangutans found in Odisha

Days after five endangered infant orangutans were rescued from a casuarina forest in Odisha’s Balasore district, the investigation into their mysterious appearance has hit a roadblock, with law enforcement agencies yet to identify the traffickers, their route, or the animals’ origin, officials familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Two baby orangutans, who were recently rescued from Balasore district, play with soft toys in a quarantine cell at the Nandankanan Zoological Park, in Khordha district, Odisha. (Nandankanan Zoo)The Crime Branch’s Special Task Force (STF), assisted by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and state forest officials, has examined footage from more than 55 CCTV cameras, searched more than 50 hotels in West Bengal’s Digha, and questioned several individuals, but has yet to make a breakthrough.

The probe initially centred on a black Mahindra Thar spotted near the Bichitrapur forest in Bhograi around 11.25 pm on September 7, hours before the animals were found clinging to trees in a nearby plantation near the West Bengal border.

The vehicle’s trail led investigators to a Digha-based hotelier, Jayanta Maiti. But raids at his hotel yielded no additional information. Officials said they found an SUV matching the description on the premises, but Maiti and his son were missing.

The hotel’s CCTV recording equipment had also been removed. Three hotel employees were questioned but later released after no direct link to the trafficking racket was established. “We have to proceed cautiously. If we share details of the investigation, those who perpetrated the crime will be alerted,” Odisha director general of police Vinaytosh Mishra said on Saturday, declining to reveal details about its probe.

An STF official said investigators were analysing mobile tower data, local port and airport movements, and forensic evidence from face masks recovered near the rescue site to determine whether the primates entered Odisha by land or sea.

The five infants currently housed at the Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar are in stable condition. Addressing reports that one infant had developed a fever, the zoo issued a health bulletin late on Monday night confirming that all five animals are doing well.

Chief Wildlife Warden Prem Kumar Jha said a five-member technical expert panel comprising veterinary officers from Mysuru Zoo, the National Zoological Park in New Delhi, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the Centre for Wildlife Health at OUAT, and the Nandankanan zoo director was monitoring the orangutans.

Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades.

With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions.

He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha.

His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states.

His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections.

In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More