6 held guilty in Kerala Professor TJ Joseph hand-chopping case

Six of the 11 accused people in the sensational Professor TJ Joseph hand-chopping case of 2010 were found guilty by a special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday. Five others were acquitted. The verdict was pronounced by Judge Anil Bhaskar in the second phase of the trial on Wednesday, almost 12 years after the incident. It is being said that the trial got delayed due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The accused were charged with offences under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the Explosives Act, and criminal conspiracy, grievous bodily harm with a deadly weapon, and criminal intimidation under the IPC. The Court shall pronounce the sentence at 3 pm on Thursday, 13 July. Who are 6 held guilty in Prof TJ Joseph hand-chopping case? The six accused held guilty by the court in Professor TJ Joseph’s hand-chopping case are: MK Nassar, Sajil, Najeeb, MK Naushad, PP Muhammadkunju and PM Ayoob. As per the probe team, MK Nassar was the mastermind of the attack. A report by LiveLaw said the main accused, Ashamannur Sawad, who is said to have chopped off the Professor’s hand as per the NIA Chargesheet, is still absconding. Who have been acquitted in Prof TJ Joseph hand-chopping case? The court has acquitted Shafique, Aziz Odakkali, Mohammad Rafi, TP Subair and Mansoor. In the first phase, 31 people were put on trial in connection with the case, of which 13 were found guilty in 2015. In the second phase, 11 people were put on trial. They were the ones who had escaped after the first stage of the trial was over and were subsequently detained by the police. What’s the case? The crime took place on July 4, 2010, when the accused ganged up to avenge Prof Joseph, the former Head of the Malayalam Department of Newman College, Thodupuzha, “for having committed blasphemy while setting a question paper”. A question in an exam set by the professor contained a passage that was alleged to have insulted Prophet Muhammad. On July 4, 2010, a group of eight men, armed with swords and knives, in a Maruti Omni waylaid the professor near his home at Muvattupuzha when he was going to church with his family. They stopped their van and smashed the windscreen of professor’s vehicle before pulling him out and chopping off his right hand. They also had stabbed him in the left leg. When the professor’s sister and mother tried to stop the assault, they too were attacked by the assailants who then detonated bombs and fled from the spot. The case was initially investigated by the Kerala Police, but was subsequently handed over to NIA on March 9, 2011. With inputs from agencies