Wayanad: The controversial Muttil tree-felling case has taken a fresh turn as Special Public Prosecutor Joseph Mathew has demanded a re-investigation.

According to advocate Mathew, the 84,600-page charge sheet has several loopholes that must be plugged before the trial begins, for which special permission of the court is to be sought. A Crime Branch team led by DySP V V Benny filed the charge sheet at the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Sulthan Bathery on December 4, 2023.

Adv Mathew told Onmanorama that after going through the case files he felt the probe was incomplete and with the existing charge-sheet it would be tough to fight the case. “It is better to conduct a re-investigation as omissions and commissions could be corrected,” he said.
ADGP Venkatesh convened an online conference of investigation officials and the Special Public Prosecutor to explore possibilities of a re-investigation and re-submission of an updated charge sheet. Another meeting has been scheduled for May 18.

The charge sheet includes a report of the DNA test analysis conducted to determine the age of the trees that were felled; two trees were found to be over 500 years old. The charge sheet has named 12 accused, 420 witnesses, 900 documents and a CD (Compact Disc) comprising 5,200 pages.

Augustine brothers, Roji, Anto and Josekutti, Muttil Village Officer K K Aji and Special Village Officer Sindhu are among the accused.

According to the charge sheet, the accused cut rosewood trees citing a controversial order issued by the Revenue Department allowing landowners to cut trees planted after 1964. The order was later repealed. According to the charge sheet, 204.635 cubic metres of rosewood worth Rs 8 Crore was cut and smuggled by the accused in November and December of 2020 and January 2021.