# Third Muttil tree-felling accused surrenders in Kerala court 2026-08-13T11:22:38+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Roji Augustine, the first accused in a cheating case linked to the Muttil tree-felling scandal, surrendered before the Chottanikkara Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Ernakulam on Thursday. His brothers, Jose Kutty Augustine and Anto Augustine, the second and third accused, had surrendered two days earlier after the court issued non-bailable warrants against them. All warrants have now been recalled, and the three must appear in court on August 18 for framing of charges. The prosecution case, reported by The Hindu, is that the accused cheated timber trader M. M. Aliyar of Rs 1.4 crore by offering to sell 54 pieces of timber from illegally felled trees in the Meppadi Forest Range of Wayanad. Aliyar alerted the Forest department, which confirmed the illegal sale and confiscated the timber in February 2021. The three brothers are also key accused in a larger case involving the alleged smuggling of protected rosewood and teak worth Rs 8 crore from assigned lands in Muttil South. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Tags: cheating case, Ernakulam court, forest law, Kerala, Muttil tree-felling, rosewood smuggling Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/third-muttil-tree-felling-accused-surrenders-in-kerala-court/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/third-muttil-tree-felling-accused-surrenders-in-kerala-court/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.