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.
Three hotel employees were questioned but later released after no direct link to the trafficking racket was established. The hotel’s CCTV recording equipment had also been removed. “We have to proceed cautiously.
Officials said they found an SUV matching the description on the premises, but Maiti and his son were missing. 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. 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.
