00:07The investigation into the rescue of five baby orangutans in Odisha's Balasor district is
00:13getting bigger. The Odisha Special Task Force is now looking into possible links with Assam,
00:18Mizoram and Maharashtra, where orangutans were rescued in separate cases in recent years.
00:26Investigators hope those cases could provide clues about the possible route taken by the
00:30animals before they reached Odisha. In 2022, two baby orangutans were
00:36rescued in Assam's Kachar district. Another was rescued in Mizoram in 2023,
00:42while an orangutan was found in an apartment in Maharashtra's Dombivli in 2024.
00:47The Odisha STS is also examining a possible wildlife trafficking angle.
00:52CCTV footage reportedly showed a black SUV near the Balasor forest,
00:56where the five orangutans were found. The vehicle,
00:59identified as a thar, was reportedly tracked to a hotel in Digha.
01:05However, investigators have not yet established whether the people in the vehicle were involved
01:09in transporting or abandoning the orangutans. The West Bengal police is also assisting the
01:14Odisha STF. Now, with agencies across multiple states being brought into the probe, investigators
01:19are trying to answer one crucial question. How did these five baby orangutans reach Odisha?
01:24The investigation is continuing.
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