Prime accused in Kerala hand-chopping case of professor for blasphemy held after 13 years

Right-hand of T J Joseph, who was working as Malayalam professor at the Newman College at Thodupuzha in Idukki, was chopped by the gang accusing him of blasphemy. He used the name Muhammad for a character in a question paper set for an internal examination.

Thiruvananthapuram: The prime accused in the hand-chopping case of a Kerala professor by Popular Front of India activists in 2010 was nabbed by the NIA on Wednesday, 13 years after the incident.

The prime accused, Sawad, was held from Mattanur Kannur during the early hours of Wednesday. He had learnt the work of a carpenter, concealing his real identity. He was also staying with a woman and two children, who were said to be his family.

Earlier there were suspicions that he had left the state and even gone abroad after the incident. Nineteen persons were earlier convicted in the case.

The right hand of T J Joseph, who was working as Malayalam professor at the Newman College at Thodupuzha in Idukki, was chopped by the gang of PFI activists, accusing him of blasphemy. He used the name Muhammad for a character in a question paper set for an internal examination.

Reacting to reports regarding the arrest of Sawad, Joseph told the media that the real perpetrators of the crime were not brought before the law and hence such incidents reoccurred.

Joseph had earlier clarified that he had prepared the question by taking an excerpt from a write up of the known author P T Kunju Muhammed about the conversation between a madman and God.

While there was no name for the madman in the article, Joseph gave the name Muhammad in the question-paper, considering the author's name.

Meanwhile, the BJP accused that the arrest of Sawad from Kannur had once again proved true the allegations that Kerala was a safe haven for fundamentalists. CPM's support to fundamentalists was exposed as Sawad remained safe while living in CPM's stronghold Kannur for years, said BJP state president K Surendran.