THRISSUR: In a major development in the Thamaravellachal teak smuggling case, a Crime Branch probe has revealed the involvement of three forest officers in the suspicious death of Byju - first accused in the case. The Crime Branch Special Detective Officer’s report submitted to the government in May mentions the involvement of Pattikkad forest range officer M K Ranjith, forester K Sivan and beat forest officer C L Saju in Byju’s death.
The incident happened in July 2017 when the accused forest officers arrested him on July 21 for smuggling teak wood. It is alleged he escaped from custody and his body was found hanging from a tree on July 23. Although it was suspected to be suicide, the post mortem report, obtained through RTI, revealed there were several wounds on his body. According to Joy Kaitharath, general secretary of Kerala State Human Rights Society, “Byju was actually the aide of forest officers involved in teak wood smuggling in Mannamangalam forest. But, when the involvement of forest officers became an issue, they made him the scapegoat.”
Kaitharath said when forest officers took Byju into custody there was no case against him. “It was on August 12 that a case was registered. Documents received through RTI were also attached to the complaint handed over to CM Pinarayi Vijayan seeking a probe,” he said.
The human rights activist said the forest vigilance inquiry after Byju’s death revealed forester Sivan allowed him to escape from custody. However, no action was taken. Byju’s relatives had lodged a complaint with the police, but no case was registered. This aspect was also highlighted by the Crime Branch report.
In the same case, the forest officials had arrested Bijumon and Benny who had also lodged complaints against the officers. The duo was forced to remain naked while in detention. As per the forest flying squad report in 2012, teak wood smuggling at Mannamangalam amounted to a whopping Rs 27 crore, allegedly with the support of forest officers.