Odisha Orangutan Probe Turns to Black SUV as Trafficking Link Suspected

The search for a black SUV has become central to the investigation into how five baby orangutans ended up in a forest in Odisha's Balasore district, with the State's Special Task Force and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau stepping up their inquiries.

The animals were rescued by the forest department from the Bichitrapur forest in Bhograi block on the morning of September 8. Investigators are now working backwards from the night before, when a black SUV was reportedly seen near Badapahi village.

Footage from 55 CCTV cameras in Bhograi and in nearby Digha across the border in West Bengal has been examined so far. A senior police officer said vehicle movements on the night of September 7 had been verified in both locations, but no breakthrough had emerged yet. The SUV, the officer added, could still prove to be a major clue.

Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia said villagers had reported seeing such a vehicle in the area where the orangutans were found. CCTV footage confirmed that an SUV had passed through at around 11.25 p.m. on September 7, he said, but the cameras captured only the upper part of the vehicle, leaving its registration number unreadable. Locating the vehicle was therefore important, he told reporters.

Access to the Bichitrapur forest has been restricted to the public, with sources saying investigators fear that evidence could otherwise be disturbed or destroyed. Police have also recovered face masks from a black polythene bag in the area and suspect they may have been used by those who released the animals. Local residents have denied any connection with the masks, according to a police official.

Prakash Chandra Gogineni, Regional Chief Conservator of Forests and director of the Similipal Tiger Reserve, said circumstantial evidence pointed to the animals having been brought into Balasore from West Bengal along the Digha-Chandaneswar-Bhograi route. Traffickers appeared to have deliberately avoided national highways and used interior village roads instead, he said.

Acting on the forest department's assessment, STF personnel examined footage from rural roads, including cameras at a toll plaza in West Bengal. Mr. Gogineni said the presence of the animals suggested a possible international trafficking link, since orangutans are not native to India and cannot be legally bred or kept in the country. They could have been trafficked from Myanmar through the Northeast into eastern India, exploiting the region's geography, he said.

Two WCCB teams, from Bhopal and Kolkata, have joined the investigation. Mr. Gogineni said that if the orangutans had come from Indonesia, international operatives would certainly be involved, and such traffickers would need local agents in either West Bengal or Odisha. The STF has also visited a Marine police station to explore whether the animals could have been moved through waterways.

An official said international involvement was suspected because orangutans are not native to India and can fetch around ₹20-25 lakh each in the international market, with ships or fishing trawlers a possible means of transport.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has directed forest and police authorities to dismantle the alleged trafficking network and ensure Odisha is not used as a transit route for wildlife trafficking. Mr. Singh Khuntia said the State government would work with the Centre to take stringent action against those involved.

Bhograi MLA and BJD leader Goutam Buddha Das demanded that the State government seek Interpol's assistance, saying the case could have international ramifications.