Kochi: A National Investigation (NIA) Special Court in Kochi convicted six of the 11 accused in the sensational case where the hand of a college professor in Kerala was chopped off. The court is set to pronounce the quantum of punishment on Thursday.
The convicted persons were members of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI). Judge Anil Bhaskar pronounced the verdict in the second phase of the trial. A total of 11 persons were prosecuted in the phase II trial, in which, after the verdict, five accused have been acquitted. The accused persons underwent trial after being charged with offences under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the Explosives Act, criminal conspiracy, grievous bodily harm with a deadly weapon, and criminal intimidation under the IPC.
The prime accused in the case Savad is still at large, even 13 years after the crime. The case was taken over by the NIA on March 9, 2011, from the state police that had investigated the case initially. Nassar, Sajil, Najeeb, Noushad, Kunju, and Ayoob were found guilty, while Shafeeq, Azeez, Rafi, Subair, and Mansoor were acquitted. In the first phase, 31 people had been put on trial in connection with the incident and 13 of them had been found guilty in 2015. A total of 31 people had been put on trial in connection with the crime in the first phase, and 13 of them had been convicted by the court.
On July 4, 2010, Professor T J Joseph, the former Head of the Malayalam Department of Thodupuzha Newman College, was attacked allegedly because he had insulted the Prophet Mohammed in a question paper for an exam in the college. In the attack, the Professor’s right hand was chopped off with an axe and he was stabbed in his left leg. The attack took place when he was on his way to church accompanied by members of his family.
Post the verdict, the Professor stated that he did not believe that punishing the accused can deliver justice for the victim. He made the remark following a special NIA court’s verdict convicting six persons in the sensational 2010 hand-chopping case in which he was the victim. ‘I can only repeat what I said when the verdict of the first phase of the trial case was pronounced in 2015. As a common citizen, I need to know what will be the conclusion of the case. I only have that much curiosity towards the issue. Hence, I don’t have any personal likes or dislikes over punishing or not punishing the accused’, Joseph said.
He further added that the accused in the case have been made victims like him. ‘I understand that they attacked me in the name of a primitive belief. They are victims of the same beliefs just like me, who is a victim of a law of tribal nature. It’s high time that all humans become modern citizens by imbibing scientific temper and embracing humanity and brotherhood’, he noted.
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