Orangutan Smuggling Plot Hatched In Bengal? Digha Hotel Owner's Family Grilled After CCTV Shows Smugglers Inside

Jagran Correspondent, Bhubaneswar: The investigation into the recovery of five orangutans from Rankotha Reserve Forest in Odisha's Balasore district has intensified, with the Crime Branchs Special Task Force (STF) uncovering crucial leads in the case. Investigators have reportedly found that the alleged conspiracy was hatched at the Grand Heritage Hotel in West Bengal’s Digha. Hotel owner Jayant Maiti and his son, Soumyadeep Maiti, have emerged as the alleged masterminds behind the network, as the STF continues to probe.

According to reports, this hotel in Digha opened only four months ago. However, the father and son accused are absconding and the STF has yet to locate them. Their mobile phones are also switched off. During the investigation into the smuggling case, the STF had also recovered a black Thar. It is suspected that the accused have fled the country.

Officials said that only after the arrest of the two accused will it be clear where the orangutans were brought from, where they were supposed to be transported, and why they were left in the Baleshwar forest. As per the investigation, the CCTV footage from the hotel confirmed that the orangutans were brought inside the hotel.

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Digha Hotel Owner's Wife, Daughter Questioned

The orangutans were recovered from the Rankotha forest on September 8. When the STF began the investigation on September 9, they learned that the accused father and son had absconded. The STF is also examining the hotel's CCTV hard disk, which is expected to yield important clues.

To reach the accused, the STF interrogated the hotel owner's wife and daughter for about five hours on Friday. Preliminary investigations have revealed the involvement of 12 people, including the family.

According to sources cited by Jagran, six accused involved in orangutan smuggling were staying in the concerned hotel, out of which the names of three were found registered in the hotel register.

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However, the STF has not officially released any information regarding the number of people questioned so far and who will be called for further questioning. According to sources, the orangutans were being prepared to be sold to a farmhouse owner, but due to fear of being caught, they were left in the forest of Bhograi.

Soumyadeep Maiti already has several criminal cases registered against him. He has also been previously arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police in one case.