After palm chopped off, Kerala prof is axed
Prof T J Joseph whose right palm was chopped off by suspected activists of the Popular Front of India for allegedly insulting Prophet Mohammed in a question paper has now lost his job, too.
The management of Newman’s College at Thodupuzha in Idukki district has terminated the services of the professor from September 1.
Monsignor Thomas Malekkudy, manager of colleges run by the Diocese of Kothamangalam, said the decision follows an inquiry conducted by them and the recommendation of the disciplinary committee. The management felt that the professor had hurt the religious feelings of a community by framing the controversial question resulting in loss of goodwill for the Church and even leading to law and order problems.
“We felt that tendering a mere apology by the professor was insufficient to undo the damage that his action had caused to the community and the institution. Hence we are constrained to terminate his services,’’ Fr Malekkudy said. Interestingly, the college management has indicated that the professor can contest its decision in court.
However, Prof Joseph and his family said they were stunned by the dismissal decision. “I was mentally preparing to get back to work at the earliest and had even begun to learn writing with my left hand when this jolt came,’’ Joseph said. His sister Sr Stella, a Catholic nun, said the college’s decision was nothing short of “double punishment.”
Kerala Education Minister M A Baby said the management’s action was extreme and that the professor could approach the university tribunal or the government against it.
Prof Joseph was attacked by a gang on July 4 when he was returning after Sunday mass with his sister and son. His palm was chopped off and thrown away which was later recovered and surgically joined together in a hospital on Kochi.
The attack on the professor who taught Malayalam in the college preceded almost two weeks of violence and protests by Muslim organisations in Idukki against the question that he framed.
Mahatma Gandhi University to which Newman’s College is affiliated had initiated disciplinary action against Joseph and later withdrawn it.
The police have so far arrested 51 people, most of them activists of the PFI, in connection with the case though some of the key accused are still absconding.
The property of those absconding have been attached and even the top leaders of the PFI have been questioned. The investigators have stumbled on evidence linking Bangalore blasts key accused Thadiyantavide Naseer with the PFI leadership.
Director-General of Police Jacob Punnose said more information was being awaited to establish whether Naseer had stayed at the PFI office in Ernakulam district as reported.
