Those accused of felling protected trees from deeded land in Kerala should be charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and anti-corruption laws, State police chief Loknath Behera said.
Currently, cases are being registered only under the Forest Act.
In a report submitted to the chief minister, Behera said trees were felled in at least six to eight districts. He also blamed the revenue and forest officials.
The State intelligence wing too had reported to the DGP and chief minister that the trees were felled in connivance with revenue and forest officials.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has ordered a joint probe under the chief of the crime branch into all aspects, including conspiracy.
With police and vigilance sleuths joining the probe, the accused would be slapped with theft charges under IPC, besides relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
A joint team under the crime branch chief would begin their investigation on Tuesday.
Of the 42 cases of tree felling filed by the Revenue Department, 24 sees 16 tribesmen arraigned as accused.
Timber mill owners, who had bought the logs, were also named as accused in some cases.
Meanwhile, police said the Forest Act would come into play only if the trees felled were on forest land. The trees felled were on government-owned patta (revenue) land and hence theft cases should be registered under the IPC.
Police have recommended registering cases under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act since the accused had cheated the members of those communities.
Senior officials, meanwhile, said the Prevention of Corruption Act would be invoked in cases in which the roles of revenue and forest officials have been suspected.
The trees were felled under the cover of a dubious order passed by the previous LDF government in October 2020. It allowed farmers to harvest trees they had cultivated on assigned land.
The forest mafia had used this ruling to persuade pandemic-hit farmers to sell them protected timber for a pittance.
Though an alarm was raised by several district collectors and green activists, the government did not reverse the order till February this year, giving enough window to the timber mafia to carry on the loot.
The matter came to the light again when centuries-old rosewood trees were felled in Muttil in Kerala's Wayanad district in June. It is believed that the suspects had political and official patronage.
Besides Wayanad, trees were also axed in Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad and Pathanamthitta.
The scandal birthed huge political and legal ramifications for the Pinarayi Vijayan government.
Opposition leader VD Satheesan has demanded a judicial inquiry into environmental crime.
The Congress-led UDF has planned to send a fact-finding delegation to Muttil on June 17.
Culprits won’t be spared, says Chief Minister
Thiruvananthapuram: Stringent action will be initiated against the accused in the Muttil tree-felling case, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.
The government allowed the felling of trees with the good intention of helping the farmers. Some people misused the order. Vijayan said the government would discuss necessary steps to protect the interest of the farmers.
