Bhograi: Investigators probing the rescue of five orangutans from a protected forest in Baleshwar district have seized a mask found wrapped in a rope near the recovery site, fuelling speculation over the case as authorities widen their inquiry into a suspected international smuggling racket. The animals were rescued last Tuesday from the Badapa hi village forest under the Bichitrapur Ranakotha protected area in the Bhograi block. They were subsequently shifted to Nandankanan Zoological Park, where they are being treated and kept under safe conditions.
A joint investigation team from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and the Special Task Force (STF) seized the mask Thursday from the garden of a local resident, Panchanan Pattayat, whose property adjoins the site where the orangutans were found. Officials have not disclosed further details about the item or its possible link to the case. As part of the inquiry, the investigation team has been examining footage from 55 closed-circuit television cameras installed along the route stretching from Digha to Kolaghat in neighbouring West Bengal, officials said.
The teams have also been carrying out searches in both Bhograi and West Bengal amid suspicions that an international trafficking network may have been involved in smuggling the animals. The site near where the mask was recovered has since been cordoned off with fencing and declared a restricted zone to allow investigators to carry out further examination. Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing, with officials yet to make any arrests in connection with the case
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