Kerala. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested the absconding accused in the case of chopping off the hand of a college professor in Kerala. He was absconding for 13 years. NIA had placed a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head. Of the six people convicted in this case, the NIA court has sentenced three of them to life imprisonment.
According to the information, the right hand of Professor TJ Joseph of Newman College in Thodupuzha, Idukki district of Kerala was cut off by activists of the banned radical Islamic organization Popular Front of India (PFI) on July 4, 2010. This arrested person was the main accused in the case, who was constantly dodging the police.
An NIA spokesperson said that accused Savad was arrested from Mattanur in Kannur district of North Kerala on Wednesday morning. Reacting to this development, victim Professor TJ Joseph said that he is not much worried about the arrest of the main accused in the case. They still believe that the main accused is still a pawn.
The “mastermind” of this attack has still not been caught by the police. After this arrest he said, “The police investigation has not been able to reach the mastermind of this attack. This indicates that our legal system has not developed to that extent. This arrest may be a relief for the police, but I have a general interest.”
He also said that he does not believe that the arrest or conviction of any accused will bring justice to the victims. When asked if he could identify accused Sawad, Joseph said he could because he still remembered the attack by him. Their loss in this attack can never be compensated.
