The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is probing the methods employed by a team of foreign scientists who collected blood samples of tribals from Andhra Pradesh for a controversial genetic study without the knowledge or permission of ICMR.

Scientists and tribal welfare workers had expressed anguish at what they call smuggling of blood samples from the state. According to the scientists, the blood samples of the tribals could not have been obtained without the connivance of the local people.

A paper published in international science journal shows collusion between a university in the UK and a Hyderabad-based scientific institution where blood samples of various tribal populations of the country are collected without permission.

P Sivarama Krishna, Director of Shakti, a non-government organization, who works with Chenchu tribes, said two months ago a lady from a university in Kolkata had collected blood samples of Chenchu tribes. The lady is reported to have said that she had obtained permission from ICMR. This should have been investigated, he said.

The setting up of a tourist zone, Tiger Wilds, in the heart of Srisailam, the home of Chenchu tribes, had made it all the more easy for foreign tourists and even Indians to have access to the area.

According to some sources, the samples could have been collected at the behest of World Health Organisation for a study on AIDS. It could also be sponsored by one of the multinational companies. According to some scientists the DNA of tribals is among the best in the world as they are immune to a number of diseases like malaria and influenza.