Joseph’s wife committed suicide in 2014.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: Justice has been finally served to a Malayalam professor in Kerala whose right hand was chopped off during an act of terror unleashed by a group of Muslin fundamentalists in 2010 after he prepared a controversial question paper, deemed as blaspheming Prophet Mohammed.
Thirteen men who were booked by the NIA in connection with the attack was found guilty by the court and 10 of them have been convicted for conspiring against Professor T J Joseph, who is currently under financial and psychological crisis after his wife committed suicide in 2014.
The 13 men convicted include K H Jamal Hassan, K M Shobin, Shamsudeen Makkar alias Shamsu, Shanavas Abdulla alias Shemeer and Pareeth Aliyar who according to the court were directly involved in the attack. Another 18 men were acquitted while five others, including the first accused Savad Meerankutty, are still on the run. The sentence of those who were found guilty will be pronounced by the court in the coming week.
The incident that led to the professor losing his palm happened on July 4, 2010 when seven men who are believed to be members of Popular Front of India (a Kerala Muslim outfit), stopped the professor who was returning home along with his mother and sister from a local church. The men attacked using sharp weapons, which led to the professor and his sister getting badly wounded. The professor’s right hand was cut off during the attack and was later surgically restored.
According to the prosecution, the professor was attacked as retribution to a question paper that he prepared that had blasphemous content about Prophet Mohammad, which hurt the religions sentiments of Muslims. The Newman College Idukki had suspended the professor immediately after the police registered an FIR against him and was later terminated from service as a face saving measure. A court later acquitted Joseph from the charge of hurting religious sentiments.
In January 2013, NIA filed its first supplementary charge-sheet before the NIA special court in Eranakulam, accusing 9 people for involving in the attack. A second charge sheet was filed later during the month of December. Judge P Sasidharan started hearing the case in the special NIA trial court in Eranakulam on June 2013.
During the course of the trial, Joseph’s wife Salomi committed suicide and the family went into deep financial crisis. At last, just three days before his retirement from service, Joseph was reappointed by the Newman College Management.
NIA special court Judge, P Sasidharan approved the viewpoint of investigating officer to invoke the provision of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on the 10 accused. All 10 accused will get a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for being members of terrorist gang (Section 20), conspiring for a terrorist act (Section 18) and for committing an act of terror (Section 16 and 16).
The convicted will have to face jail term under UAPA provision in addition to other terms under various charges under IPC. The other charges under which the court found them guilty include unlawful assembly, rioting with deadly weapons, wrongful restraint, causing grievous hurt using dangerous weapons, criminal intimidation, promoting religious enmity and attempted murder.