Wayanad: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the police department, headed by DySP V V Benny, has started counting the rosewood timber seized in connection with the Muttil tree felling case, a procedure preceding the auction of the confiscated timber.

The team began the process on Friday with the support of forest department personnel at the Kuppadi Timber Depot. The move follows a recent order by the Sulthan Bathery Judicial First Class Magistrate Court directing the SIT to expedite the auction process after the District Additional Court dismissed the plea filed by the accused claiming ownership of the seized timber. The court ruled that the timber belongs to the state government.

According to the charge sheet, a total of 204.635 cubic metres of rosewood, worth ₹8 crore, was allegedly cut and smuggled out by the accused during November and December 2020 and January 2021. The SIT submitted 36 separate charge sheets. Earlier, on December 4, 2023, the investigation team had submitted an 84,600-page charge sheet treating the entire tree-felling episode as a single case.

The charge sheets include details of DNA test analyses conducted to determine the age of the trees, revealing that two of the trees were over 500 years old.