30 trees felled in Sugandhagiri without permission of forest department, six-member team absconding

WAYANAD: The forest department said the accused had felled more trees than what was allowed in Sugandhagiri Chennakkavala in Kalpatta. It is reported that the six accused in the case are absconding and they felled 30 trees more without the knowledge of the officials. All six have sought anticipatory bail in the court. The forest department has decided to impose a fine of Rs 5000 for each additional tree felled.

The accused in the case are Ibrahim from Varyad, Abdul Majeed from Meenangadi, Chandradas from Mandat, Abdul Nasar from Manalvayal, Assan Kutty from Kaithapoil and Haneefa from Eranhikkal. The forest department gave them permission to cut 20 trees in January. However, it was found that the six-member team had felled 30 trees more.

The accused fled leaving the logs there after noticing the arrival of the forest officials. The logs abandoned by the accused have been taken into custody. The vehicle used to transport it has also been seized. The trees were felled from the land given as part of Sugandhagiri Cardamom Project in 1986. The land was allotted to the landless tribals.