Kerala Professor Hand Chopping case: NIA Court Finds Six Guilty, 5 Acquitted
A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday found six accused in the sensational 2010 hand-chopping case guilty of the heinous crime. Five other accused were acquitted.
The court found the following accused guilty; M K Nassar, Sajil, Najeeb, M K Naushad, P P Muhammadkunju and P M Ayoob.
The attack was masterminded by Nassar. Shafique, Aziz Odakkali, Mohammad Rafi, T P Subair and Mansoor were acquitted by the court.
The case pertains to the brutal attack on Malayalam professor T J Joseph by Islamic fundamentalists.
Reacting to media questions on the verdict, Joseph said that he did find any happiness in the NIA court verdict. He described the attackers as victims of centuries old tribal beliefs.
According to him, the actual perpetrators who directed the accused to chop off his hand are yet to be brought to justice.
The second phase of the trial involving accused who were nabbed after 2015, was completed on Wednesday.
The trial got delayed due to Covid pandemic.
The court had earlier sentenced 13 accused who faced the trial in the first phase. As many as eighteen accused were acquitted then.
The gang had carried out the heinous crime on July 4, 2010, to avenge the alleged blasphemy committed by Joseph while setting a question paper. At that time he was a faculty at the Newman College, Thodupuzha.
The gruesome incident: A gang of eight people came in a Maruti van and waylaid professor Joseph near his home at Muvattupuzha on July 4, 2010.
Joseph's sister, Stella Joseph, who witnessed the horrific crime said around eight people armed with swords and knives came in a van and intercepted their vehicle. They pulled the professor out of the vehicle after smashing the windscreen.
They chopped off his right hand and stabbed him in the left thigh.
The assailants attacked Stella and her mother when they tried to counter the attack. The attackers, before fleeing from the spot, hurled bombs creating terror in the area.
