Main accused in Kerala professor’s hand-chopping case arrested after 12 years

mangaloretoday.com

Ernakulam, Jan 11, 2024: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested the main accused in Kerala’s professor palm-chopping case, bringing the agency’s decade-long investigations to successful closure. The key conspirator, Savad, had been on the run for the last 13 years and carried a bounty of Rs 10 on his arrest.

 

He was nabbed from Mattannur of Kannur in Kerala.

The case of the attempted murder of professor TJ Joseph, a former head of the Malayalam department of Newman College, dates back to January 2010. He was attacked, and his palm had been chopped off by a group of PFI workers at Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district. Joseph’s left palm was severed when the attackers fled the scene after detonating a crude bomb.

Savad was identified as the main accused in the case of the attempted murder of Joseph by chopping off his palm. He was named as accused on the chargesheet in January 2011.

A total of 19 accused have so far been convicted for offences under the Indian Penal Code and anti-terror laws. Of them, three have been convicted for life, and 10 others were sent to eight years of rigorous imprisonment and fines.

All the accused in the case were either leaders or activists/cadres of the now-banned PFI and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and were actively involved in the criminal conspiracy to attack Joseph, the NIA stated.

Notably, Union Home Ministry on September 27, 2022 imposed a five-year ban on PFI and its eight other organisations for propagating communal hatred among people and indulging in ’unlawful activities’ which are prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and security of the country.

WHAT IS THE CASE?

On July 4, 2010, the accused had chopped off the palm of the professor for allegedly ridiculing Prophet Mohammed in a Malayalam question paper prepared for the internal examination of B.Com students at Newman College, Thodupuzha, Idukki district.

The accused had deemed the question as provocative and had carried out the barbaric daylight attack on the Professor in the presence of his family members, the NIA statement read.

The accused had attacked the professor while the family was returning from church after the Sunday morning mass. The attackers, a group of seven people, pulled the professor out of the vehicle, assaulted him, and then his right hand was chopped off by the main accused, Savad.

The assailants had also hurled a bomb to spread terror among the public before fleeing the scene.

Subsequently, a case was initiated at Muvattupuzha Police Station and later taken over by the NIA.

Savad was the last absconding accused in the decade-old case.

Courtesy: India Today