Special NIA court judge Anil K Bhaskar found the six guilty of attempted murder, conspiracy and various other offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the second phase of the trial in the case.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — A special court in Kerala’s Kochi has found six persons guilty of chopping off the hand of a professor over an alleged insult to Islam
The special NIA court acquitted five others and it will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Thursday, India Today reported on Wednesday.
On July 4, 2010, the hand of Professor TJ Joseph was cut off allegedly by members of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) after he was accused of insulting Islam in an exam paper. Joseph’s left palm was severed when the attackers fled the scene after detonating a crude bomb.
The attack took place while Professor Joseph was returning home with his family after attending a Sunday mass at a church in Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district. After hours of surgery, the severed hand was stitched back.
Special NIA court judge Anil K Bhaskar found the six guilty of attempted murder, conspiracy and various other offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the second phase of the trial in the case.
Some of the accused were also held guilty of offences under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In the first phase, 31 accused faced trial and of them, the court had in April 2015 convicted 10 for offences under the UAPA as well as the Explosive Substances Act and the IPC and found three others guilty of harbouring the offenders. The court had acquitted 18 others in the case back then.
The attackers, a group of seven people, pulled the professor out of the vehicle, assaulted him, and then his right hand was chopped off by the main accused Savad, who is still absconding.
